A Little More in Common
by dorawarrior
Summary: L and Light are the best students in their school...yet they are extremely different...fate intervenes and they find that they may have more in common than they think...LXLight...side MelloXMatt and NearXSayu...COMPLETED! Disclaimer: I don't own DN...
1. Chapter 1

here's a new story...

several things to note...

the death note doesn't exist here...

L and Light are the same age...

that's all...please...enjoy...

* * *

Light Yagami and L Lawliet had several things in common. They were both the top students in their high school; they were both the best tennis players in the Kanto region and they were both extremely famous in their area.

However, they could not be anymore different.

Light Yagami was popular, the girls loved him, and the guys respect him. He had the perfect family. His father, Soichiro Yagami was the head of the police, his mother was the perfect housewife who kept the home in tip-top condition and his younger sister, Sayu was the good, pesky little sister that always made him frown, smile and laugh.

He was athletic, tanned, good looking with sharp features. His soft brown hair made the girls long to run their hands through it, his brown eyes that were so piercing when he was concentrating and soft when he was friendly had drowned many girls within them. He was cultured and always walked tall and proud.

Finally, he had a girlfriend. A model and an actress, Amane Misa. She was cute, blonde and had a cheery attitude to match. For most however, they felt that Misa did not have the brains to match Light's but since she was his choice, who could argue?

As for L Lawliet, he was not unpopular, but he exuded a dark aura about him that most girls keep away from him. Even the bullies didn't dare to pick on him. He was for the most part, antisocial. Nobody knew about his family, as such, rumours abound about him. Some say that he has no parents; some say that he killed them and all the usual things.

He was skinny, and always walked in a slouching posture. He was pale and dark bags were found underneath his equally dark eyes. His sat in a crouching position and held things with just his thumb and forefinger. His black hair was messy, yet some of the more open-minded girls found that it made him more alluring. Yet what scared them was his emotionless gaze and expressionless face.

Unlike Light, there has never been any indication of him having a relationship before.

So now, the tale of these two who are so different is about to unfold.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Tadaima," said Light, slipping off his shoes at the doorway. He had just returned from school, where he had exams earlier.

"Oni-chan?" said a dark haired girl several years younger. She looked a lot like light except the hair and her features were more open and carefree as opposed to Light's more serious demeanour.

"Sayu? Where's oka-san?" he asked, looking around.

"She went out to go shopping for dinner," answered Sayu, cheerfully.

Light raised his eyebrows. His mother normally cooked simple dishes. If she went out shopping, then she was going to cook something special, if she was going to cook something special, which meant…

"Father's coming home today?" he asked.

Sayu's face fell comically, and Light knew he had already guessed right.

"How did you know?" she cried, pouting.

Light cringed inwardly.

"Because mom wouldn't go shopping for dinner unless it's for a special occasion," he said. "And don't pout like that, you look like Misa."

Sayu grinned.

"Speaking of Misa, she called three times earlier," she said.

Light groaned.

While he was sure he had feelings for Misa, he didn't enjoy her practically stalking him nearly all the time. The girl was so clingy and jealous and tended to freak out whenever Light didn't return her calls.

Light sighed as he headed to his room, pulling out his cell phone as he did so.

Dialling a number, he waited.

Soon, his call was answered.

"Light-chan!" came a whiny voice on the other side.

Light winced.

"Hi, Misa," he said.

"Oh, Misa Misa is so glad you called," squealed Light's air headed girlfriend. "Misa Misa was worried that some stalker could have kidnapped you and raped you or so on…"

So Light spent the next half an hour enduring the girl's ramblings.

After she was done, Light had a major headache.

"What did I ever see in her?" he said to himself.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Further down the road, not far from where Light lived, there was an old rundown building. The worn out sign over its entrance says: 'Anezaki Museum for Replicas of famous Ancient Artefacts'.

Farther past the entrance was a dusty old lobby and behind what was supposed to be a ticket booth sat an old man. He was completely bald and wore round glasses. The suit he wore was once stunning in its time, but now it was worn down as the building around him. His kindly face was lined with years of hard living and worries.

He looked up when he heard the door open and smiled when he saw a pale, raven haired teenager walked in, slouching.

"Back again, Lawliet?" he asked.

The youth looked up with his dark eyes.

"I never get tired of seeing the replica of King Tut's sarcophagus," he answered in a soft voice.

He walked up to the booth and simply said. "One ticket, student fare as usual Mr. Anezaki."

Anezaki smiled.

"Don't bother, just go in and look around," said the old man. "Free of charge."

"I can't do that," answered the pale boy.

Anezaki stood up, frowning at L. "Look, I never had any visitors for the past twenty years since I opened this place. Then, you came along. For seventeen years, you've never failed to pay a visit to this place. You come at least twice a week! So when I say that the only patron of this museum gets a free tour, he gets a free tour. You understand me?"

L looked down, slightly embarrassed by the old man's speech.

Anezaki sighed.

"Very well then, I'll take you around in the place myself," he said.

L looked up, smiling.

"All right then," he said.

LLLLLLLLLLLL

L walked back home quietly, his head still full of what he had seen in the museum. No matter how many times he visited the place, he never got tired. He knew they were just replicas of the actual thing, but they were fantastic replicas. Anezaki had every detail of the actual thing put into his replicas until it was nearly impossible to tell that it was a fake. If only the others would just see it…

L shook his head sadly, he had once tried to get a group of his 'friends' to visit the place, but they had rejected him for it. The horrible things they called him for just visiting an old museum…

He felt the sting in his heart and his vision suddenly blurred. He stopped and tried to get a hold on himself. He would not cry! He cannot cry! He thought he had grown used to the fact that nobody wanted to be his friend, but still at times when his guard was down…

He reached into his packet and pulled out a bar of chocolate. Biting into it, he felt calm as the sweet and chocolaty taste ran across his tongue. Suddenly, he remembered something; he had not bought his brothers any food.

Cursing, he turned to make a detour for a restaurant nearby when suddenly he stood face to face with a red-haired boy.

The boy was still in his school uniform, he had a slightly blank look on his face, brown eyes and a pair of goggles over them. He was holding a plastic bag carrying what looked food from the nearby restaurant.

"L-senpai," he said.

"Matt-kun?" he asked. "What's in there? Why aren't you home yet?"

Matt smirked slightly.

"Mel thought that you might forget. He told me to go get dinner with his money. This is the day you go to that museum after all," he said.

L looked away, embarrassed.

"Thank you, Matt-kun…"

"I swear, if you add the 'kun' to the back of my name again, I'll stick my foot up your ass," growled the younger boy.

L smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you, Matt," he said. "Why don't you join us for dinner?"

Matt smiled. "Got nothing to do at home."

They both walked towards L's home.

LLLLLLLLLLLLL

Light threw himself onto his bed, feeling tired. Dinner had gone smoothly and now, he just wanted to rest, tomorrow was the weekend anyway.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door.

"It's not locked," said Light.

The door opened and Soichiro Yagami entered.

His face was lined with worry and seriousness but there was kindness in his eyes. His black hair was slicked back shiny.

"Father?" said Light, surprised. It was unusual for his father to check up on him while he was in his room.

"Raito, I want to talk to you," said the older Yagami.

Light sat up on his bed immediately.

"It's about Misa," said Soichiro.

Light was surprised; he definitely did not expect that.

"What is it?" he asked.

Soichiro sighed.

"This afternoon, she tried to file a missing person report," he said wearily. "Said something about something must've happened to you if you failed to answer her calls three times straight…she raised quite a bit of chaos in the office."

Light groaned.

"I'm sorry, father," he said. "I'll talk to her…"

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about," interrupted Soichiro.

Light waited.

Soichiro was actually looking rather sheepish.

"You're an intelligent man, Raito," he said. "Couldn't you have picked someone…less troublesome?"

Light had to suppress a laugh.

"I know, father," he said, keeping his voice level. "I don't know what I saw in her either."

Soichiro smiled.

"You'll break up with her, then?" he asked.

Light shook his head. "Not yet, I have to go about it slowly. If she's lodged a missing person's report just because I failed to answer her calls, imagine what would she do if break up with her right away…"

Soichiro nodded.

"Point taken," he said. "How were the exams?"

"Same old shi…I mean, they were okay," muttered Light.

Soichiro smiled at his son and left him in his room.

Light sighed and lay back on his bed.

"Just another day in my life…"

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Tadaima," said L as he kicked off his shoes at the doorway. He looked around his home.

Messy as always. Books lay on the floor, candy wrappers and toys were strewn all over the table and a whole lot more.

L sighed and said louder then before: "I'm home!"

A white haired boy clad in pyjamas shuffled out of one of the rooms, clutching a teddy bear. He was about five feet three and his face and eyes were similar to L's.

"Oni-chan," he said happily, running to hug his older brother.

Smiling ever so lightly, L returned the affectionate gesture.

Lifting up the younger boy into his arms, he said: "Near, is it possible for me to come back home and not find the place turned upside down?"

Near flushed.

"It was Mello who did the candy wrappers, I just read after I came home…" he said softly.

"Blaming it all on me again, twerp?" came a louder and brasher voice.

L turned to regard his second brother.

Blonde, tall and with hard black eyes and a scar across his face, this was L's second brother, Mello.

L sighed. "Couldn't you just clean up after eating all those chocolates?"

Mello shrugged.

"Could've, would've, should've but didn't," he said. He turned his attention to the red-haired boy beside L. His hard eyes softened ever so slightly.

"You got dinner, then?" he said, smirking.

Matt grinned. "You were right."

Mello snorted. "I always am."

Shaking his head, L set Near down on the floor and the three went off to set the table for dinner, making a mess as they did so.

"Just another day in my life," L said to himself.

lllllllllllllllllllllllll

so...there's the first chap...i won't be able to update as fast as i did with Possesion...because i'm trying to improve my writing while doing my college work...i'm hoping to make this fic last longer than the last one...so please...tell me what you think...

next chapter coming soon...love writing this part...


	2. Chapter 2

here's the next chapter...hope you'll like it...

* * *

Light woke up feeling grumpier than usual. It was Monday, the day he hated with all his heart. It was the start of another gruelling five days where he had to face his pompous teachers, most of whom he could outwit, deal with those brainless fan girls and keep up his image with the 'cool' people.

After performing all of his morning rituals, he went down to have breakfast.

"Ohayo, oka-san, Sayu-chan," he greeted in grumpy voice.

Sayu looked at him and giggled.

"Looks like someone is in a bad mood, today," she said.

Light merely huffed.

LLLLLLLLL

Light was walking slowly down the street. There was still plenty of time before school started.

The cool morning breeze made him feel less grumpy as it blew across his face. He breathed in the morning air and enjoyed the way it filled his lungs. Breathing out, he turned a corner.

And saw L walking a little bit ahead of him.

Light had never talked much to L, the raven-head being a loner most of the time and had a habit of disappearing during lunch hours.

L was probably the only person who can match Light in wits, if he could be bothered to that was.

While Light often took part in debates, speeches and discussions, L would only sit quietly and keep his opinions and thoughts to himself, unless asked.

Every time in the exams, L would get higher marks than Light in some subjects and Light would get higher marks in other subjects.

Light had often wanted to talk to L, but his popular status in the school and the people around him prevented him from doing so. Those people of course, had argued that hanging out with L was bad for Light's image.

But today, this morning, those people weren't with him, he was not Light Yagami, one of the best students in the nation or the most popular guy in school. He was simply Light Yagami.

Picking up his pace, he called out to L.

"Lawliet-san!" he cried.

The pale boy in front of him stopped and turned.

"Yagami-san?" he said, a little surprise showing on his face.

"Ohayo," said Light once he had caught up with L.

"Ohayo," replied L before turning to continue walking to school.

The two of them walked quietly for awhile, L showing no interest in talking while Light kept thinking of ways to start a conversation.

"I had no idea that you lived in this area," he said.

"Nearly no one does," replied L, not looking at him.

"How long have you lived here?" asked Light, genuinely curious.

"Fifteen years, I moved in when I was two," answered the raven-head dismissively.

Light raised his eyebrows in surprise.

_Fifteen years? Longer than me? _

"How come I never saw you around before?" he asked.

"You're full of questions today, Yagami-san," came the cold reply.

Light winced inwardly at the coldness.

"Hey, just trying to be friendly," said Light, trying to get through to the other boy.

L stopped and turned to look at Light right in the eyes.

"You've never shown any interest in being friendly with me before, Yagami-san," said L bluntly. "Why now? Did you make a bet with your friends that you could fool around with me? Perhaps as a result of losing a bet? I assure you if that's the case, then you're just wasting your time."

With that, L left Light looking stunned.

LLLLLLLLLLL

It was English class, the class that L disliked the most. It wasn't that he wasn't good at it, it's just that the teacher, Ryuk kept insisting on doing most of the work in groups. So far, L had got around socialising with the others by doing the work himself and passing it up. He felt that Ryuk knew, but his teacher never said anything about it.

Sitting in his crouched position in his chair, L began to bite his thumb anxiously, feeling that something bad was going to happen today.

While he didn't let it show, Light's behaviour towards him that morning had somewhat rattled him. He hadn't been able to focus on his work as well as he should have, mainly because he noticed that Light kept shooting glances at him. It completely threw his little world of balance.

He could feel Light's eyes boring into his back, and he wanted to tell him to stop, but he didn't want to make a scene.

Luckily, Ryuk chose that moment to arrive.

The English teacher was very tall, about six feet four. He was also very gangly. His black hair was spiked up and he was as pale as L. His huge black eyes were capable of sending chills down anyone's spine. Despite his intimidating look however, he was one of the more friendly teachers in the school. Another curious thing about him was that he seemed to carry an apple with him everywhere.

"Yo," he greeted lazily, biting into his apple.

The class said nothing, knowing it was better to remain quiet while he talked.

"All right, for your finals, I've decided that I won't do the standard exam papers," he said lazily.

The class began to talk among themselves, intrigued.

"Why, you ask?" continued Ryuk. "Studying English is not like maths or physics. English is something you use your whole life, unlike those two where you use it as long as you can still remember it. You have to communicate in English. That's what you brats are going to do for the finals, communicate. It's also because I'm too lazy to set the papers for your exams."

Hearing this, L sank deeper into his seat, dismayed. He knew what was coming next.

Ryuk's eyes flickered to L momentarily. Then he continued.

"You're all going to get into groups of two," said Ryuk, not noticing L's turmoil or more likely, ignoring it. "You're going to find out about each other, as much as possible. I want you all to do a presentation on each other's likes and dislikes, personal stuff and basically any old thing about them that might be interesting. Your presentation is due in a month. I'm being nice, so get cracking."

L looked around in despair as his classmates quickly began to sort themselves into groups. As he had expected, no one even glanced his way. He tried to ask a few of them but his soft voice was drowned out by the noisiness of the class.

Light was a different story, he was swamped by his classmates. Most of them were girls, and soon an all out catfight was breaking out on who should be Light's partner. Ryuk, noticing this quickly forbade any girl from being Light's partner as punishment. By then, the other guys in the class already had their own partners and Light's rabid fan girls resorted to sorting themselves out among each other.

Looking around, Light noticed that L was sitting alone.

He approached the pale boy.

"Lawliet-san?" he said.

L jumped slightly and turned to face Light.

"Do you have a partner?" asked Light.

L shook his head.

"Well, neither do I," said Light. "Why don't we group up?"

The atmosphere in the class had grown tense as everyone in the class was watching the scenario before them. _The _Light Yagami was asking L to be his partner! The guys looked stunned while the girls were practically snarling at L. Even Ryuk stopped chomping on his apple to observe the scene unfolding before him with interest.

Light was oblivious to it all.

L however, wasn't. He wasn't used to having the class's attention fixed him, positively or negatively. He felt as though he could drown under all the hostility being directed towards him.

Desperate to end it, he quickly nodded his agreement and quickly asked Ryuk if he could go to the toilet.

As soon as Ryuk said 'yes', L was out of there as fast as lightning.

Light blinked at L's sudden departure, confused.

Ryuk, meanwhile was grinning to himself.

"This is going to be interesting," he said to himself.

LLLLLLLLLLL

L didn't go to the toilet; instead he just sat outside the classroom, trying to catch his breath. All the hostility those people felt for him, terrified him more than anything else.

Calming himself, he tried to figure out a way around this one. After thinking awhile, he could find no way around it.

He ran a hand through his dark hair in exasperation.

"Lawliet-san?"

L turned to find Light looking at him.

"Are you all right?" asked Light, concernedly.

L blinked in surprised.

_He's worried about me?_

_No! He's trying to fool around with you!_

"I'm fine, Yagami-san," replied L coolly.

Light frowned and walked forward and stood right in front of L, too close for comfort.

L fought his panic down. He would not lose; he would not show any weaknesses.

"Lawliet-san, I don't know why you're being so aloof with me," said Light. "Is it because you think I'm trying to play you or something?"

L didn't answer, looking at Light in the eyes.

"Fine, if words won't convince you, I guess actions will," said Light in exasperation. "I'll show you that I have no ulterior motives or anything. But come in now, will you? We need to get started on out project."

L was surprised by Light's words.

_Maybe…he's not trying to play me?_

_Is he actually being sincere?_

_No! I can't trust him! I know how foolish it is to trust someone outside of my family._

Outwardly, L said: "You're right, we should get started."

LLLLLLLLLLL

Despite their best attempts however, they were unable to get any work done. The hostility of the class rendered L unable to focus.

After the class was over, so was school. English was the last period that day.

"I guess we should do our work outside," said Light to L as the rest of the class filed out. "Why don't you come to my place?"

L stared at Light.

This was the first time someone had actually invited him over to their home freely. But then, it was for the project, wasn't it? All the same, L was sorely tempted to accept the offer.

"I'm afraid I can't, Yagami-san," said L quietly.

Light looked disappointed.

"Why?" he asked.

"I have to fetch Near from school today," answered L.

Immediately curious, Light asked: "Who's Near?"

"My little brother," answered the raven-head.

"You have a brother?" said Light, pleasantly surprised.

"If you don't mind, Yagami-san, I'll be late if I don't leave soon…" began L, but then Light cut in.

"Why don't I go over to your place, then?" suggested Light. "We could do our project there."

L struggled to find a reason to refuse Light but found that couldn't. Light was looking at him so eagerly and sincerely that L's ceased his efforts.

"All right then," said L, giving in. He smiled slightly when he saw that Light was grinning broadly.

lllllllllllllllllllllllll

so how was it??...do tell me what you think of it...

i find it quite irritating to use formailites...so i'll try to end that part as soon as possible...anyway...hope you guys liked it...

next chapter coming soon...


	3. Chapter 3

here's the next chap...

* * *

Near was feeling worried. His school had just ended and L wasn't at the school gates to pick him up. It wasn't like L to be late. Granted, it was only ten minutes since school ended but to Near that was like an hour.

Even though Near was fifteen, he was very attached to his older brothers, especially L. he knew it was unusual for boys his age to be very close to their siblings but Near wasn't like other boys.

While he had his own group of friends, he wasn't very close to them and they showed no sign of wanting to get closer to him. It was probably due to his eccentricity that caused that. He was always holding on to his teddy bear no matter where he went. On his first day of school, his teacher had tried to take his teddy bear away, stating it was not right for boys his age to be carrying such things around.

Near had screamed, cried and turned the whole class upside down. That resulted in him going to see the school psychiatrist and his parents being called. Unfortunately, his parents couldn't be contacted, resulting in L having to go see his teachers. L had explained Near's emotional attachment to the bear to his teachers and they ceased bothering him about it.

However, some of the crueller students and teachers didn't. Some of the students made fun of him and some tried to bully him by taking his bear away. After Mello had interfered, they all ceased to do so but still threw cruel remarks his way. As for the teachers, the only one who was a real bother was the gym teacher. The muscle-bound moron wouldn't stop picking on him.

Near couldn't very well explain the reason he was so attached to the bear. It was a worn out thing, its brown colour faded and its marble eyes slightly cracked. But it was special to him, because L had given it to him.

It was the first birthday present he ever got, and it solidified his relationship with L as his brother. True, he loved Mello just as much, but he wasn't as attached. Mello came into his life after L did, and that was all the difference Near needed. The teddy bear was the first gift he ever got in his life, given to him by his first brother. It was a sign that L cared for Near, and he felt that if he lost it, L would cease to care for him. Near knew he couldn't live with that.

Clutching his bear tighter, he looked around for his raven-haired brother at the gates. Still no sign of him.

"Near-kun?" a voice behind him said.

Near turned to see Sayu Yagami, one of his classmates.

"Good afternoon, Yagami-san," he greeted softly.

The girl frowned at him, brushing aside a few stray strands of her black hair.

"How many times have I told you to call me Sayu-chan?" she asked.

Near looked down.

"I'm sorry, Ya…I mean, Sayu…Sayu-chan," he said shyly.

Sayu smiled. She found her white-haired classmate to be very polite, shy and rather cute.

"Why aren't you going home yet?" she asked.

"I'm waiting for my brother," answered Near.

"Oh, you have a brother?" said Sayu, looking interested. "What's his name? Does he have white hair like you?"

Near regarded the girl before him.

Sayu was one of the few people who were genuinely nice to him. He found her cheery behaviour endearing and it made him feel less worried and more at ease. He also enjoyed her companionship. For these reasons, he decided he should at least answer her questions.

"His name is L," he said. "His hair is black like yours, it's very nice."

Sayu grinned. "You think my hair is nice?"

Near blushed.

"I mean L's hair…not that your hair isn't nice…I was just referring to L's…your hair is nice, but…"

Sayu laughed, a pleasant sound to Near's ears.

"You're funny when you stutter," she said, smiling at him.

Near blushed harder and he looked away to hide it.

"Why do you go back with your brother? Do you live far away?" she asked.

Near shook his head.

"I live nearby, but…" he blushed again, embarrassed. "I like to walk back with him."

Sayu looked at Near thoughtfully.

"He must mean a lot to you then," she said, still smiling. "The two of you must be really close."

Near gave her a rare smile.

"Near?" a familiar voice said.

Near turned and saw L.

"Oni-chan!" he cried, running forward to hug his brother, not caring about what other people thought about it.

L hugged him back before saying: "Sorry I was late; I was held up a bit."

Near nodded his head and stepped back to regard the other boy beside L.

He was taller than L; he had brown hair and brown eyes that twinkled. He was smiling broadly at Near.

"Hey there, you must be Near," he said in a pleasant voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said L. "Near, this is Light Yagami, my classmate."

Light frowned slightly when L used the term 'classmate' instead of 'friend'. True, he wasn't that close to L, but he felt somewhat hurt that L didn't seem to regard him as a friend.

_Maybe I'm thinking too much._

Near meanwhile, turned to look at Sayu.

"Yaga-I mean, Sayu-chan, is he your brother?" he asked.

Sayu nodded, smiling.

L however, was surprised. He was surprised to hear Near call someone –chan. Was it possible that Near had a friend in the young girl standing before him?

"Ah, Yagami-san has never told me that he has a sister," he said pleasantly to the girl.

"I'm not surprised," said the younger girl brightly. "Oni-chan doesn't like to talk much about his family."

L smiled slightly and looked at Near meaningfully.

His younger brother understood and quickly said: "Sayu-chan, this is my brother, L. This is Sayu, my class…my friend."

L's face broke out into a true smile upon hearing the last word. It brightened up his dark features and made him look lovely.

Light noticed it.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Sayu-san," L was saying. "I was worried that no one would be able to see past my baby brother's attachment to that bear."

"Hey!" cried Near indignantly.

Sayu and L laughed.

Light stared.

L was laughing! It made him look more attractive and pleasant. It was as though he could see the real L instead of a mask.

_Wait a minute; did I just think that L is attractive?_

Light shook his head, maybe he was thinking too much.

"Yagami-san, let's go," L said to him.

Light frowned; he disliked the way L kept referring to him with his last name but said nothing.

He followed them, Sayu and Near chatting with each other.

Light kept watching L. The raven-head was smiling as he watched his brother talk to Sayu.

_It's amazing, _thought Light. _It's amazing how a simple smile can change how he looks entirely._

After walking awhile, they reached a junction.

"Well, my home is that way," said Sayu, pointing in one direction.

"Mine's the other way," answered Near, looking slightly disappointed. He had really enjoyed talking to Sayu.

"Well, I'd better go or my mom will start to worry," said Sayu, looking slightly disappointed herself. "You're not coming home yet, oni-chan?"

Light shook his head.

"I have to do a project with L at his place," he said.

Sayu nodded.

"Well, I guess I'd better go now," she said. "Goodbye L, it was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," answered L, smiling.

As they turned to leave, Sayu said softly. "Near?"

The white-haired boy turned to Sayu.

"You have a nice smile," she said. "You should smile more often."

With that she left.

Near was blushing.

L teased Near mercilessly all the way back about it.

Light noticed how differently L behaved with his younger brother. His emotions bubbled forth, he smiled constantly and he spoke so cheerfully.

After awhile, they came to a plain looking home.

L turned to face Light.

Light immediately noticed that L had reverted back to his emotionless and formal way when addressing him.

"This is my home, Yagami-san."

Light decided that he didn't like it at all.

He was about to say so, but L and Near had already walked up to the door.

Light sighed and followed.

LLLLLLLLL

Light couldn't believe the mess in the house. Chocolate wrappers were strewn all over the floor and there were piles of unwashed dishes in the kitchen sink.

L looked around casually, not bothered at all.

"Mello must be home," he said to himself.

Turning to Light, he said. "Do excuse the mess, Yagami-san. It's not normally like this, but when Mello is around, he tends to mess up the place a bit."

"A bit?" echoed Light incredulously.

L shrugged and turned to Near.

"You have any homework?" he asked.

Near nodded.

"Then get to it," said L, smiling and ruffled his younger brother's white hair.

Near nodded again and shuffled off to his room.

L turned to Light again.

"I guess we'll do our work in my room, Yagami-san," he said. "Follow me."

L led Light past a room where music was blaring loudly through the door and up a set of stairs. There was only one room up there: L's room.

It was completely neat.

A futon was rolled neatly in corner nearby, a desk with books arranged neatly on it sat in another corner and a shelf with books stood in another. The most curious thing in the room however, was a little miniature fridge that was beside the desk.

Putting his bag down, L walked over to the fridge and opened it. He pulled out two slices of strawberry cake and offered Light one.

Light took it with a small 'thank you'.

They both sat there for awhile, devouring the cake.

After they were done, L took the plates and placed it back in the fridge.

"I'll wash them later," he said. "Shall we start then, Yagami-san?"

Light let out a frustrated growl.

L looked at him in surprise.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes!" snapped Light. "Why do you keep calling me Yagami-san? Why do you keep talking to me so formally? Why do you treat me so coldly?"

L stared at him before looking away.

"I'm sorry if I've made you angry," he said. "I thought it was only proper if I refer to you formally as I do not know you well."

"You just met Sayu today and yet you were more open with her," retorted Light coldly.

"That's different!" cried out L. "Sayu is Near's friend. I was just happy that Near has a friend. You should know that I was worried for him as he did not mix around much in school and to see that he has a friend…"

"You're no different."

L blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're no different," said Light again. "You're also pretty antisocial, you don't mix around _at all_ and you don't seem to want to. You push other people away all the time."

L opened his mouth but shut it again.

He looked away and started to bite his thumb.

Light sighed.

"Whatever," he said. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

L nodded slowly.

"What do you want to know…Light-san?"

llllllllllllllllllll

finally...L decides to move on to a first name basis with Light...what will happen next??

find out in the next chapter...

next chapter coming soon...


	4. Chapter 4

hey...here's the next chapter...sorry for the late update...been busy with projects and work...argh...disgusting...

* * *

Light blinked at L.

"Did you just call me by my first name?" he said in surprise.

L nodded. "Since we'll be working together, I thought it would be better to be less formal."

Light smiled. "That's good to hear, L-san."

L grimaced. "Just L is fine. L with any honorific sounds rather strange."

Light laughed. "You're right, it does sound terrible."

L smiled slightly.

"Shall we start then?"

LLLLLLLLLL

They spent about three hours learning about each other and were somewhat surprised by the number of things they had in common. Current total: three.

They both liked mystery and detective movies and shows.

They both like Maths class.

They found Light's fan girls extremely annoying.

By the time they've finished discussing and taking notes, the sky was already darkening outside.

Light noticed it and said: "I guess we'll have to continue some other time, L. I have to go now."

L nodded and moved to escort Light to the door.

Before leaving, Light turned to L.

"That was a good start today, where do you want to continue tomorrow?" he asked. "My place or yours?"

L thought about it for a moment.

"I still have to pick up Near tomorrow," he said. "If you don't mind, I think my place will have to suffice."

Light nodded.

"See you tomorrow at school then, L," he said.

"See you tomorrow…Light-san," returned L.

Light waved and closed the door behind him as he left.

L locked it and turned around to see Near and Mello watching him.

"Who was that?" asked Mello, biting into a bar of chocolate.

"That was oni-chan's friend," piped up Near.

"Don't be stupid," said Mello, knocking Near on the head. "L doesn't have friends and doesn't want any."

"That's not true!" cried Near. "Everyone wants friends! Light-kun is your friend right, oni-chan?"

Near was looking at L with wide eyes that normally made L agree to almost anything without thinking. But this time, he thought about it carefully. Was Light his friend? Sure, the other boy had been unexpectedly friendly. But it was only for the project, wasn't it? L hadn't had a friend for a long time, he was afraid to hope that Light was his friend. But…the way Light had seemed upset when L repeatedly called him by his family name, that had seemed sincere, the way he tried to approach him in the morning, the seemed sincere.

Maybe, just maybe…

"Yes, Light-san is my friend," said L, smiling softly.

Near grinned broadly at Mello who merely scowled.

"Told you so!"

LLLLLLLLL

Light got home just by sunset but luckily, his mother didn't kick up a fuss about it. Someone else however, did.

"Misa Misa has been waiting here for hours!" cried Light's air headed girlfriend. "We were supposed to go on a date today!"

Light blinked.

"But we just went on a date yesterday," he protested. "Our next date is supposed to be on Wednesday."

Misa pouted.

"Misa Misa couldn't wait that long!" she squealed, clinging to Light's arm. "Let's go for one now!"

Light resisted the urge to yell at her.

"Misa," he said, forcing himself to stay calm. "I'm tired, I have a lot of work to do and I just came back from my friend's house…"

"Friend's house! What friend?" said Misa with sudden ferocity.

Light was taken aback by the sudden change.

"My friend of course," he said. "My classmate and…"

"You went to her house?" hissed Misa. "Why?"

Light realised what Misa was thinking and nearly laughed.

"It's not like that Misa," he said soothingly. "I just had to do some work."

"Really?" asked Misa doubtfully.

"Really," assured Light. "Besides, it's a guy."

Misa's face immediately brightened up and she was back to herself.

"Oh, it's all right then," she said cheerfully. "How about that date?"

Light sighed in exasperation.

"Not tonight, Misa," he said. "I'm tired."

"But…" began Misa but then Light kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Not tonight, okay," Light said in his most sensual voice. "This Wednesday, I promise."

Misa nodded and walked out the door like a drunken idiot.

Light let out a sigh of relief and turned to go up to his room but his way was blocked by a scowling Sayu.

Light cringed inwardly at the look Sayu was giving him.

_What now?_

"You should really give her your cell phone number," said Sayu grumpily.

Light frowned. "Don't start that again, Sayu."

When Light had first got together with Misa, he hadn't given her his number right away. Now, he was grateful for that little bit of wisdom. Misa kept ringing their house phone of the hook. He can only imagine the number of times she'd call if he gave her _his _number. Of course, Sayu and his mother were less than happy about it. Sayu had been harassing him to give Misa his number so that the house could have a little peace. Light had been refusing to this very day.

Today however, Sayu had other ideas.

"If you won't tell her, then I will," she said menacingly.

Light's face turned so pale that for a moment, he could have passed off as L.

"You wouldn't," he said in horror.

"I would," said Sayu, grinning.

Light recognised that grin. It was the one Sayu always used when she was blackmailing him. He knew that this particular one was way below the belt.

"What do you want?" he asked, defeated.

"Tell me all about Near's place and his brother!" said Sayu, grinning broadly.

It was Light's turn to grin.

"You like Near, don't you?" he said.

Sayu blushed.

"No I don't…" she mumbled.

Light's smile widened. "Don't lie, Sayu."

"Kya!" squealed Sayu, hiding her face in her hands.

Light laughed at his sister's embarrassment.

"You do, don't you?" he said.

Sayu mumbled something.

"What?" asked Light.

"Is there anything about him not to like?" said Sayu, her face still red. "I mean, he's smart, polite, modest and…"

"And?" prompted Light.

"He's just so kawai!" squealed Sayu, looking at anywhere except her brother's face.

"All right then, I'll tell you," said Light, smiling at Sayu.

Sayu eagerly followed her brother to his room, excited that she was going to learn more about Near and some of the people in his life.

LLLLLLLLL

"Oni-chan, why don't you try some of the chicken?" said Near concernedly.

The three brothers were seated around the table, having their dinner. Or rather, Mello and Near were having dinner, L had just skipped to dessert.

Near had been watching in concern while L ate three scoops of vanilla ice-cream, a scoop of chocolate ice-cream with some strawberries. His older brother has never eaten a solid meal as far as he could remember and it worried him to no end.

He offered L the piece of chicken in question but L simply ignored it.

Near sighed and then fixed his wide eyed puppy dog gaze on L.

L stopped eating and looked at Near.

"Sorry Near, that doesn't work when it comes to my meals," he said, mildly amused.

Near pouted and returned to his chicken, sulking.

"Meals?" said Mello incredulously. "You call the junk food you eat _meals_?"

"You eat a lot of chocolate too, Mello," pointed out L, licking on his spoon.

"But I eat regular meals too, L," retorted L's blonde-haired brother.

L merely ignored the sentence, choosing to enjoy his sweet treat instead.

"Is Light-san going to be around a lot?" Near asked suddenly.

L paused in eating his ice-cream.

"We have to do our project, yes," he answered.

"No, I mean even after you're done with that," said Near.

L pondered this. Did he want Light to be around after the project was done? Could he truly accept Light as a friend? He wasn't so sure and that was the answer he chose to give Near.

Near looked down at his plate, looking slightly crestfallen.

"I hope he'll be around more even after the project," said Near.

L thought that he was probably thinking about Sayu.

"You can always see Sayu at school, Near," he said. "You can also go visit her at her home…"

"I wasn't thinking about Sayu!" protested Near, his cheeks reddening. He ignored the interested gaze that Mello was giving him. "I was thinking about you!"

"Me?" echoed L, surprised.

"Yes, you!" cried Near. "When you and Light-san are together, I noticed that even though you were trying to close yourself from him, you kept opening up to him bit by bit. You looked…you looked happy."

L frowned. Surely Near was misreading the cues.

"I think you might be…" he began but Near cut him off.

"I'm not wrong!" the white-haired boy cried. "You might not notice it yet, but I can see it! You want Light to be your friend! You want someone else to talk to! You…"

"ENOUGH!" L suddenly shouted.

Near fell silent, looking at L with wide eyes.

His older brother had dropped the spoon and was now clutching his knees, trembling.

L was surprised by Near's outburst, but he was even more surprised with himself. He never shouted at anyone before but now he had just shouted at his beloved youngest sibling. He also knew everything that Near had said was true. He did want a friend, he wanted someone he could trust outside his family.

He heard a sniffling sound and looked up. Tears were pooling in Near's eyes and he looked very hurt.

He immediately felt guilty. Near was just speaking out about what he thought was right, which it was, and L had hurt him. He of all people should know how emotionally fragile Near was. He was one of the few who knew Near's background…

L immediately got off his chair and went to Near and hugged him.

"Near, I'm so sorry for shouting at you," he said into his younger brother's unkempt hair. "You were just speaking your mind, I was wrong."

"I shouldn't have said so much, oni-chan, I know how hard it is for you to open up to anyone…" said Near, hiccupping a bit as he did.

"Hush," said L. "It's all right."

They stayed that way for awhile.

Mello watched the scene before him with embarrassment.

To relieve some it, he said: "Near has a girlfriend?"

lllllllllllllllllllllllll

so there you go...a little conflict and Misa idiocy...so far i haven't mentioned much about Mello and Matt...for those of you who love that pairing...please bear with me for awhile...it'll come...sooner or later...

next chapter coming soon...


	5. Chapter 5

here's the next chap...kinda random...but i hope you'll like it...

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, L and Light's classmates noticed that the two seemed to be growing closer. This caused quite a stir in the school and there was mixed reactions.

Of course, it goes without saying that Light's fan girls were enraged that L was hanging out with _their _Yagami Raito. Many of them had already made voodoo dolls of 'the pale decrepit ghoul from the darkest pit of Hell'.

For the academic oriented students, they felt envious that two of the greatest minds in school were getting to pick each other's brains, something they had longed to do themselves.

For the jocks, they were bewildered that a cool guy like Light would hang out with someone as uncool as L. they couldn't comprehend it, but then they could barely comprehend anything outside of the sports they play.

As for the teachers, most of them were glad that L had finally found a friend. They had been concerned about their favourite student's lack of socialising and it seems that they could cease their worrying.

One afternoon after school, one of the teachers, Rem, was watching the famous pair from the staffroom windows.

The two of them were apparently talking about something and then, to Rem's utter shock and delight, L appeared to be chuckling at something Light had said. This was most unusual.

Ryuk, who was in the staffroom munching on an apple, noticed the soft smile on Rem's face.

It was no secret to the school population that Ryuk had a soft spot for the Chemistry teacher.

The two of them were similar to each other. Both were tall and had spindly limbs, they both had a somewhat lazy demeanour and they were both of the same age.

However, they were also very different.

Ryuk was laid back and seldom took his work seriously. He was also very easy going with his students and open to them at any time. He smiled or rather, he grinned a lot.

His red-haired, female counterpart was an altogether different story. She was strict and very serious in her work. She rigidly followed the rules when it comes to punishment and did not socialise with her students during her lesson hours. She very rarely smiled but when she did, it lit up her pale face and made her look younger and more welcoming.

"Rem-chan, what are you smiling about?" asked Ryuk lazily.

Rem turned to her colleague, frowning. The smile on her lips earlier vanished.

"We are still at work, Ryuk-san," she said severely. "It is inappropriate to call me that now."

Ryuk sighed. "Sorry, Rem-san. So, what were you smiling about?"

"Have you noticed that Lawliet-san is becoming more open with Yagami-san?" Rem asked.

"Those two always stand out in my class," said Ryuk, chewing away at the piece of apple in his mouth. "Of course I noticed."

Rem's eyes narrowed as she watched Ryuk.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" she said accusingly.

"Did what?" asked Ryuk innocently.

"You purposely decided to assign a socialising project to get Lawliet-san to open up more. You did it because you were worried for him. But then, since you were bored, you also thought it might be interesting to pair him up with Yagami-san."

Ryuk merely grinned.

"Ouch, that's a little harsh, Rem-san," he said. "I didn't actually tell L to group with Light."

"You didn't have to," retorted Rem. "You banned Yagami-san's fan girls from grouping up with him while they were fighting over him. You knew that the guys wouldn't try to ask him during that time because they couldn't get near him so they'd group up with other people. Lawliet-san, being the social outcast would be overlooked by them. So that would just leave him and Yagami-san, wouldn't it?"

Rem chuckled, impressed.

"All right, you cornered me," he said.

"What I want to know now is why?" asked Rem, folding her arms before her chest.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Ryuk, feigning innocence.

Rem scowled.

"Don't play with me, Ryuk-san," she snapped.

Ryuk laughed as he stood and drew himself up to his full height.

"All right, I'll tell you," he said. "But on one condition…"

Rem's eyes widened as she realised that she had fallen into Ryuk's trap.

Her black haired colleague was looking at her straight in the eye and grinning broadly.

"You're having dinner with me tonight."

LLLLLLLLLL

"So, how about it, L?" asked Light eagerly.

He had been pestering L to visit his house for the past two days. L hadn't been able to go because of Near. Today however, Near had the day off, so L had no reason to refuse him.

But this was L he was talking about.

"I can't, Light-kun," answered L.

Light resisted the urge to groan.

"Why?" he asked, forcing a smile on his face.

"Mello has sports today," replied L.

"What sport does he play?" asked Light curiously.

"American Football," answered L.

Light could only stare.

"What?" asked L, surprised by Light's reaction. "Mello is a lot stronger than he looks."

"What does that have anything to do with you not being able to come to my house?" asked Light through gritted teeth.

L looked away.

"Near would be at home alone," he answered softly.

"But Near has been alone today while you and Mello are at school," answered Light, confused.

"He expects me home by afternoon, so he could bear with it," explained L. "If I don't come home by then, he might freak out."

Light was immediately curious.

He had already noticed that Near was unusually attached to L, but only now did he realised that the attachment was a lot more stronger than he had thought previously.

"Why?" Light asked.

L hesitated.

Should he tell Light? Did Light deserve to know? It was true that he and Light had grown closer over the past few days, but did that give Light any right to know. He decided not to tell Light everything, just a glimpse of it.

"Near is extremely attached to me, not just because of the fact that we're brothers, but…let's just say that I was the first father figure Near ever had because our parents…they were never there for him…"

Light blinked in surprise.

That was the first time L had ever mentioned his parents. Did this mean that L was starting to trust him more?

"…so Near is quite paranoid. If I don't go back by afternoon after telling him that I would, he might start to think that I've abandoned him and that might make him…freak out…"

L stopped, he had already revealed a lot to Light.

Light didn't press for more. He felt that he was already lucky to be told this much.

"I trust that you will not speak of this to anyone?" L asked him, looking slightly anxious.

Light blinked. "Of course not, I promise."

Then, a thought occurred to him.

"Why don't you bring Near with us?" he said.

L blinked, surprised.

"But…" he began.

"Sayu can keep him company while we work," said Light eagerly.

"But…"

"It'll be perfect, they like each other!"

"But…"

"I swear, if you say 'but' one more time…" growled Light.

"But…" mumbled L again.

"But what?" cried Light in exasperation.

To his surprise, L was blushing lightly.

"I'm scared to meet you're parents," L said softly.

"Oh, is that it?" asked Light, resisting the urge to laugh.

"I've never met anyone else's parents, so I don't know how to behave," continued L, ignoring the mirth in Light's eyes.

Light realised how serious L was and sobered up.

"Hey," he said, putting a hand on L's shoulder. "Don't worry about it so much. Just be yourself, and they'll love you for it. Besides, you'll only be meeting my mom. My dad is too busy with his work so he only comes back late at night."

L looked at Light uncertainly.

"Please?" tried Light, looking at L beseechingly.

L sighed.

"All right," he said.

Light grinned in a very Ryuk-like way.

"So let's get Near and go!"

LLLLLLLLL

L quietly stood before Mrs. Yagami, holding Near's hand.

He felt so self-conscious, he was worried that she might dislike him.

But his worries were unfounded.

Mrs. Yagami was charmed by L's politeness and intelligent responses that she practically welcomed him to the family.

She was equally charmed by Near, whom she commented would be the perfect boyfriend for Sayu, making the two blush.

So Near was left alone with Sayu while L and Light were upstairs, working on their project.

Sayu smiled at Near, who smiled back and began twirling a lock of his white hair.

"So what do you want to do, Near-kun?" she asked.

Near shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, I'm struggling with the math homework our teacher gave us, maybe you could help me?" suggested Sayu.

"Okay," said Near, glad to be able to help her with something that he was really good in.

LLLLLLLL

"I can't believe you tricked me into this," grumbled Rem.

Ryuk chuckled.

The two of them were sitting in an Italian restaurant, waiting for their meal to arrive. Rem had to admit, for a talented but lazy teacher, Ryuk could certainly be charming when he felt like it.

Like now.

"It's not so bad," said Ryuk, looking comically crestfallen. "At least it's all on me!"

Rem suppressed the smile that threatened to reveal itself on her lips.

"So are you going to tell me?" she asked instead.

Ryuk smiled. He found her no-nonsense and straight-to-the-point attitude endearing.

"All right," he said. "I'll tell you. Did you know that L's parents deserted him?"

Rem stared.

"I'll take that as a no. Well, from what I've gathered, L was abandoned by his parents along with two younger brothers, Mello and Near. They were taken in by their grandfather, whose name I still do not know. What I do know is the grandfather is an extremely rich man who was extremely busy and travels abroad throughout most of the year. This left L with the responsibility to act as his brothers' father figure. For that reason, he started to think that he had no time for a social life. As the years went by, he no longer bothered to try and make friends. He also lives away from his grandfather, choosing to stay here rather than live in luxury. I suppose he doesn't want to become spoiled or allow his brothers to be spoiled. I believe he writes for a magazine as a source of income, but mostly they're supported by their grandfather. Between his brothers, works and studies, he felt that he had no time for a social life."

Rem was quiet.

"How do you know all this?" she asked at last.

Ryuk scratched his head uncomfortably.

"I…dug around a bit."

Rem raised her eyebrows sceptically but said nothing.

"Anyway, I wanted him to have a friend to help ease his burden," continued Ryuk. "And before you ask me, I'm too old to be anything more than a mentor or counsellor. I chose Light because he was the only one intellectually equal to L, but with a healthy dose of normality as well and yes, I was curious to see if they would get along."

Rem closed her mouth. Ryuk had answered all the questions she was about to ask.

"Seems they could get along," said Rem, smiling slightly.

Just then, the waiter came with their orders.

"Ah, this looks fantastic!" commented Ryuk, picking up his fork and attacking the pasta he ordered.

Rem looked mildly amused as she primly began to eat her own pasta.

"By the way," said Ryuk. "You should smile more often, it makes you look prettier, Rem-chan."

Rem frowned. "I told you not to call me that during…"

Her eyes widened as she realised that Ryuk had trapped her yet again.

He was grinning at her broadly, his mouth full of pasta.

"It's no longer our working hours, Rem-chan."

lllllllllllllllllllllllll

Ryuk/Rem?...yuck...anyway...tell me what you think of the story thus far...

next chapter coming soon...


	6. Chapter 6

hey, sorry for the late updates...again...busy with college work...enjoy...

* * *

L watched Light curiously as the brown haired boy set about preparing for the presentation.

The boy was nothing like how L thought he would be. He thought Light would be snobbish, arrogant and looked down on others. Instead, Light turned out to be the complete opposite.

He was friendly, humble about his intellect and open to everyone except his fan girls.

L found himself enjoying the other boy's companionship more and more. They were equals in intellect, something they both had never faced before. Now that they knew each other better, they resorted to friendly banter rather than formal discussion.

"Light-kun, do you know that you frown a lot when you're focusing on a task?" asked L conversationally.

Light looked up, surprised.

"No I didn't," he replied.

A ghost of a smile appeared on L's lips.

"Well, you do. A lot I might add," said L teasingly. "It makes you look like Rem-sensei."

Light's mouth fell open indignantly.

"Well, you stuff yourself on candy endlessly," he retorted. "Just as much as Ryuk-sensei stuffs himself on apples."

L smile grew wider.

"Not up to your usual standards, Light-kun," he said, raising his thumb to his lips. "I fail to see how that comment is supposed to come across as an insult."

Light smiled back at L.

"Whoever said it was meant to be an insult?" he replied.

L shrugged and moved to help Light with the presentation.

They continued to do so for a few hours until finally; Light stood up and started to put their presentation things away.

"I think that's enough for today, L," he said.

L nodded and looked at the watch on his wrist.

"It's getting late, I should leave," he said.

"Oh, don't go just yet," Light said. "All we ever do together is work. Let's go and hang out a bit."

L's eyes widened. Light just asked him to hang out with him! Did this mean that Light wanted to go beyond peer-to-peer relationship? That he wanted to do recreational activities with L from time to time?

"I…I don't know," he mumbled, looking away.

"Come on, how about?" pressed Light.

"I…I…I've never hanged out with anyone before," L said softly, not looking at Light. "I'm afraid that I don't know what to do…"

Light smiled and pulled L by the wrist to the door.

"Then I'll show you."

LLLLLLLLL

"Ya! That's the third time you've beaten me!" cried Sayu, pouting.

Near had just performed a brilliant checkmate on her for the third time. Sayu had tried everything she could but found that she couldn't beat the white haired boy.

Near looked down.

"Sorry," he said softly.

"Baka," said Sayu, hitting him on the shoulder playfully. "It's a game, what do you have to be sorry for?"

"Sorry…" said Near again.

Sayu snorted with amusement.

With Near's help, she had managed to finish her math homework quickly and being bored later, she played a few games with Near. First they had played Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare but Near had proven to be superior in the game, Battle Fantasia where Near had been superior and Dragon Ball: Burst Limit where Near had beaten her yet again.

Sayu couldn't understand it. Near had claimed that he never touched a Playstation all his life, yet he played like a pro.

When asked, Near merely shrugged and said: "It's rather easy."

So they had resorted to playing chess, where Sayu thought that she should have known better than to challenge Near.

Just as she was wondering what to do, the door opened and Light's head appeared around it.

"Sayu, Near-kun, L and I are going out for some ramen," he said. "Do you guys want to come?"

Sayu nodded eagerly and hopped up to follow them.

Blinking and slightly bewildered, Near followed.

LLLLLLLLL

L sat at the ramen stall, slightly overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

A bowl of steaming ramen lay before him, still untouched.

Light, Near and Sayu were all already digging in to theirs.

L just stared at his bowl, holding his chopsticks and looking uncertain.

"L, try it," said Light after awhile. "It's really good."

L finally lowered his chopsticks into the bowl, only to swirl its contents around.

Light sighed and put down his own chopsticks.

"Don't tell me you don't eat anything other than sweets?" he said.

L huffed.

"Don't exaggerate, Light-kun," he said. "I do eat other things…occasionally."

"Occasionally?" echoed Light, amazed. L was really nothing like anyone he had met before.

He thought about how to make L eat the ramen while Near and Sayu looked on, interested.

Finally, Light spoke up.

"L, this is an occasion," he said. "A special one indeed."

L looked at him questioningly.

"Remember when you said that you've never hanged out with anyone before?" continued Light. "Well, now you are and not just for work or studies either. Isn't that an occasion?"

L stared at him, mulling his words over in his head. He realised that while it might seemed like a small matter, it was a big deal to him. He was hanging out with someone. He was hanging out with Light. Light who was…dare he say it? His friend?

A smiled appeared on L's lips.

"You're right, Light-kun," he said. Without further ado, L began to eat the ramen.

Light and Near, who knew L better, watched with amazement and delight as he devoured the meal. L was eating! He was actually eating something that didn't contain sugar!

L in the meantime, was enjoying the meal.

To him, ramen never tasted as good as it did that night.

LLLLLLL

The four of them walked contentedly in the general direction of their home. After awhile, they reached the junction that led them in different directions.

Sayu smiled at Near, who smiled back shyly.

"Today was fun, Near-chan," she said cheerily as Near blushed. "Please come back to visit again soon!"

"All right, Sayu-chan," Near replied in his soft voice.

"Promise?" prompted Sayu, taking Near's hand in her own.

Near blushed even harder.

"I promise," he replied, tentatively squeezing Sayu's hand.

Meanwhile, Light was looking at L.

"So I'll see you again tomorrow?" he asked.

"If you want to, I guess," answered L, feeling slightly uncomfortable by the intense gaze Light was giving him.

"I want you to want it too, L," said Light seriously. "I want you to be sure about it. No guessing. We're friends, L."

L looked away at the word 'friend'. He still wasn't too certain about it. He wanted to be able to trust Light freely, he wanted to call Light his friend but he was still afraid to do so. He was too afraid of being hurt again…

A strong hand held his chin and gently turned his head. L found himself looking into Light's eyes. Those soft brown eyes looked sad and hopeful at the same time.

"L?" said the owner of those brown eyes softly. "Why do you look away every time I describe us as friends? You don't trust me? You don't want to be friends with me?"

L felt his heart racing. The way Light was holding his chin; it was so dominating, so powerful and so…_alluring_.

His heart was beating at frenzied pace and L didn't know what to make of it. He never felt this way before. A feeling of wanting to be near Light yet afraid to. But he had to answer, but how when he himself wasn't sure of his answer.

Then, he thought back of the way he and Light spent the past few days. Light had been nothing but friendly, kind and…_caring_, yes, caring. That was something that only Near and to some extent, Mello had been able to give L. But with Light, L felt cared for and did he dare think it? The one thing that he denied himself throughout his life?

_Love…_

L realised that he wanted to be more than just friends with Light, he wanted to be with Light. But he dare not say it, for fear of losing him. At least now, he was sure of his answer.

"Light-kun, I want to be friends with you," he said softly, looking at Light in the eyes. "More than anything, you are the first friend I've ever had."

Light's eyes widened at the depth of the emotions he could feel behind the words.

He had always known that L had been a loner. But now, he realised that L was lonely, very lonely. Mello and Near had always been there for him, but it wasn't enough for L.

Light released L's chin, realising how weird it must look to Sayu and Near and feeling guilty at the same time for not noticing L's loneliness before. But now, he was determined to make sure that L was never lonely again.

"I'm glad, L," he said and acting purely on impulse, he pulled L into a heartfelt embrace.

L's froze in shock. The only hugs he ever got was from Near and that was a brotherly gesture. But now, the way Light held him sent a warm wave through him, a pleasant feeling. He tentatively returned the embrace.

Then, Light released him and looked away, embarrassed.

"See you tomorrow then, L," he said.

L nodded, smiling.

The four of them parted ways there.

LLLLLLLL

Sayu was watching her brother curiously.

Light was very quiet throughout the entire journey home. She could tell by his blank expression that he was very deep in thought.

The way Light had embraced L and talked to him earlier kept replaying itself in her head.

A thought occurred to her.

_Oni-san is falling for L!_

LLLLLLLLL

L quietly opened the door to his and Near's home.

After slipping off his shoes and giving Near a hug, he made his way up to his room.

Near watched his older brother leave.

He was happy that his brother had found a friend.

Deciding to fix himself some hot chocolate, he made his way to the kitchen.

However, hearing some noises from Mello's room stopped.

It sounded as though Mello's bed was creaking repeatedly as though someone was jumping up and down on it repeatedly.

Curious, Near tiptoed up to Mello's door and opened it just enough to get a view of what was going on.

Mello was naked, his lower body completely covered by the blankets. His waist kept moving up and down repeatedly, causing the creaking sounds that Near had heard earlier.

He was leaning over another boy, the dim light from Mello's lamp revealed red hair.

_Matt? _thought Near.

Then, Matt let out a moan as Mello began to rock his waist harder. The red-haired boy reached up with a trembling hand to caress Mello's face, but the blonde roughly caught the limb and pinned it back down on the bed and rocked his hips even harder, making Matt cry out.

Near realised what was going on and turned red.

As quietly as he could, he went to his room and not bothering to change, he curled under his blankets.

Still in shock, he voiced out his thoughts.

"Mello and Matt are gay?"

lllllllllllllllll

the first sighting of Mello/Matt...and L and Light are finally falling...but of course...a story isn't a story without an antagonist...and if any of you had read my previous fic...you'd probably already guess who it is...anyway...do give me a comment or two...i enjoy reading them...

next chapter coming soon...


	7. Chapter 7

here's the next chap...enjoy...

* * *

Light woke up earlier than usual for a Saturday.

Glancing at his bedside clock, he saw that it was only eight thirty. Trying to clear the sleepiness from his head, Light wondered what woke him up so early.

Looking around, he saw the reason. And it kicked out all the sleepiness within him.

Misa was sitting on his bed, dressed in a bikini.

"Mi…Mi…Misa?" spluttered Light, falling out of his bed.

Misa pouted in an attempt to look seductive.

"Misa thought that since its Saturday, plus after not seeing Light-chan for nearly a week, Misa thought she'd wake Light-chan with a surprise!"

"By nearly giving me a heart attack?" demanded Light, getting up to his feet.

Misa looked slightly sheepish.

"Not, but Misa was hoping for a nosebleed," she said.

Light smacked his forehead. Of course, for most people, it was a dream come true to have a scantily dressed teen celebrity to greet them in the morning. Of course, they would be flustered by it at first. But what was flustering Light now wasn't that. He'd seen Misa dressed like a hooker a hundred times before. No, that wasn't bothering him. What was bothering him was the fact that he wasn't turned on at all.

Hoping to divert Misa's attention from his reaction, or lack of it, he tried to tell her to get dressed and go wait for him downstairs.

But this was Misa he was dealing with.

She merely lay back on Light's bed, pouting at him.

"We haven't had sex for awhile now," she said, producing a pair of handcuffs out of thin air.

Light's eyes widened. She wouldn't dare, he can't deal with this right now…

Misa had already handcuffed herself to his bedpost.

"Ready for 'breakfast', Light-chan?" she purred.

Before Light could even think of a response, his bedroom door swung open and Soichiro walked in.

"Raito, I need to talk to you about Mi…"

He paused, his eyes wide as he took in the scene in his son's room.

"Fa…father," stuttered Light. "I…I can explain…"

"Downstairs, now," said Soichiro, still too stunned to form a complete sentence.

Wordlessly, Light obeyed, Soichiro hot on his heels.

"Light-chan! Don't leave me here like this!" cried Misa.

LLLLLLLLL

Downstairs, Light cowered before his father.

"I knew you were always popular with girls, but this is too much!" snarled Soichiro.

"Father, I swear I didn't do anything…" said Light pleadingly.

"Oh really?" growled the older Yagami. "Then you were just going to sit back and watch the show? I suppose the girl just handcuffed herself to the bed?"

There was a pause.

"Well, she did," said Light.

Soichiro's mouth fell open.

"She did?" was all he could say.

"She just wanted to give me a morning surprise," explained Light.

"By trying to entice you into having sex with her?" said Soichiro incredulously.

"Well, she's very active…" said Light, not thinking.

Soichiro's eyes were blazing with fire.

"Active?" he repeated in a thunderous voice. "How would you know?"

Light was brick red and he was spluttering helplessly.

That only confirmed Soichiro's suspicions.

"Good god," he exclaimed. "You're no longer a virgin?"

"Uh…well," said Light, not wanting to give his father the truth.

"I want the truth!" snarled Soichiro.

Light flinched, knowing that there was no way out of this.

"I…I don't think you can handle the truth, father," he said quietly, not looking at Soichiro.

"That settles it!" roared the irate father.

He rushed upstairs, and moments later, returned downstairs dragging a protesting Misa and threw her bodily out of the house.

"Don't you ever come near my son again!" he roared.

Whirling on Light, he said dangerously. "You are not to leave the house, you are not to see anyone except if it is for your schoolwork. Don't you dare to try and sneak out, it's my day off, and I'll be home the whole day."

Light ran to his room, not daring to argue with his father.

LLLLLLLLLL

L watched his younger brothers, puzzled.

Near kept blushing every time he looked at Mello.

Mello on the other hand, was grinning like there was no tomorrow. Matt was also there, looking worn out as though he had just ran a marathon.

Then, it all clicked.

L smiled.

"So, how was Mello last night, Matt?" he asked conversationally.

Matt and Near both blushed. Mello however, grinned even wider.

"So you knew?" he said, biting into a bar of chocolate.

"Well, you and Matt aren't exactly quiet," said L, shrugging while Matt and Near blushed even harder.

Mello grinned.

"It's such a turn on every time Matt screams out my name," he said.

L cringed slightly.

"That was unnecessary information," he said. "Anyway, I'm going to the museum now, please tell Light-kun if he comes by while I'm gone."

L took his jacket and left.

Mello looked at Matt.

"So, if those two did get together, who'd be seme?" he asked.

Matt pondered the question.

"I'd say L would be uke," he said at last. "Light looks a lot more experienced."

"My thoughts exactly," said Mello, grinning.

Leaning forward, he grabbed his boyfriend by the waist and pulled him closer.

"So, shall we go back to my room, my uke?" Mello asked, smiling suggestively.

His face reddening, Matt backed away and bolted towards the door only to be caught by Mello, who proceeded to carry Matt to his room.

"No, Mello! It's just been barely eight hours, I'm still sore! Mello, please I…I don't think I can take you on a second round! You're so rough! You…"

The red-head's words were cut off as the door to Mello's room swung shut.

Near just stood there, looking bewildered.

What should he do now?

A thought occurred to him.

He'd go with L to the museum; he has never been there before.

Quickly getting his jacket, he left the house, locked the door behind him and ran off to catch up to Light just as Matt's voice echoed through the entire house.

"MELLO!"

LLLLLLLL

Light lay on his bed, bored to tears.

He was grounded, on a Saturday! This was all that stupid Misa's fault! If it weren't for her, he'd be hanging out with L by now…

At the thought of L, a strange feeling shot through his body. It was a warm, tingling feeling that was not altogether unpleasant.

Then he realised that he may not see L that day. The thought of it made him fell distressed.

Trying to take his mind of it, he read through his notes for the English presentation.

_My partner, L, lives with his two brothers, Mello and Near. He works as a part time writer for a magazine. His favourite food is anything sweet. His favourite subject is Maths and Physics. He likes those two subjects because it applies theories and logic to it._

So Light continued to read the stuff he had noted down about his partner, so immersed he was in it that he didn't realise that was afternoon by the time Sayu knocked on his door, telling him to come down to lunch.

Lunch was horrible.

Soichiro was in a foul mood and didn't even bother to hide it, making lunch an uncomfortable ordeal. Light was relieved when it was over.

He was just about to go to his room when bell rang.

He went to answer the door.

For the second time that day, he was surprised. But this time, it was in a good way.

In the doorway stood L and Near.

"Hey, Light-kun," greeted L. "I was wondering why you didn't come by today so I decided to pay a visit."

"Oh, I was grounded by my dad…" Light started to say when Sayu head popped around the corner.

"Oni-san, who's there…oh, hi Near-chan!"

Sayu quickly bounded over to Near and began to pull him into the house, chattering the whole way.

Soichiro came to the doorway.

He stopped when he spotted L.

"Hello, who are you?" he asked.

"You must be Light-kun's father," said L, bowing respectfully. "I am L Lawliet, Light-kun's classmate and project partner."

Soichiro's eyes widened in surprised.

"Lawliet?" he said. "The Lawliet? I heard a lot about you, you're the son of…"

"Father," interrupted Light. "L is my project partner; we need to work on it. Can he come in?"

"Oh?" said Soichiro, blinking in surprise. "Yes, of course! Come in."

Light breathed a sigh of relief and began to usher L to his room. He was surprised that L had come to visit him without asking but he didn't mind. This showed that L cared enough to check on him and it also showed the degree of closeness developing between Light and L.

Light was glad.

Perhaps the day hadn't been such a disaster after all.

llllllllllllllllllll

shorter than the other chapters, i know...consider this something like an interlude...things are going to start to pick up really soon...

anyways...line of the day:

next chapter coming soon...


	8. Chapter 8

yo...sorry for the late update...again...busy with college work...enjoy!!

* * *

"Sayu, who is this young man?" asked Soichiro, looking at the white-haired boy next to his daughter.

"Ah, daddy!" said Sayu cheerily. "This is Near, my classmate and L's little brother."

"Nice to meet you," said Near quietly, bowing to the older man.

Soichiro studied him quietly. He seemed to be a nice boy, polite and respectful. But after the morning incident Soichiro wasn't going to take any chances.

"Near-san, may I speak to you in the living room?" he requested.

"Certainly, sir," answered Near, moving to obey.

As Sayu, moved to follow, Soichiro shot her a look and shook his head. She frowned but stopped all the same.

Near was standing in the living room, waiting for Soichiro.

Soichiro entered and motioned for Near to sit.

He sat across the living room table, facing Near.

For awhile, neither of them said anything, staring at each other. Near grew uncomfortable and clutched his teddy bear tighter.

Finally, Soichiro spoke.

"How old are you, Near?"

"Fifteen, sir."

Soichiro raised his eyebrows. He thought the boy would be at most thirteen, especially the way he kept hugging the teddy bear.

"What are your intentions with my daughter, Near-san?" he asked.

Near stared at him blankly.

"Intentions?" he asked, confused.

Soichiro's eyes narrowed.

"Don't play innocent with me," he said dangerously. "Boys these days aren't trustworthy. What are your intentions with my Sayu?"

"I…I really don't understand what you're talking about, sir," said Near in confusion.

"Boy, do you mean to tell me that you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about?" said Soichiro fiercely. "Because I'm not buying that!"

Soichiro stood up and glared at the white haired boy, who shrunk back and looked back at him with wide eyes.

Soichiro looked into those wide eyes and saw nothing but fear and confusion there. He realised abruptly that the boy was telling the truth: he really had no idea about what Soichiro was talking about.

Soichiro relaxed slightly, but still unwilling to accept defeat, he tried to find another way to get his message across when someone interrupted.

"Soichiro!"

Jumping, he turned to see a very angry Sachiko Yagami.

"Near-san, go to Sayu's room," she said kindly to the frightened boy, who nodded and shuffled off as fast as he could.

Turning back to Soichiro, she let out her wrath.

"What was the big idea, scaring him like that!" she said fiercely.

Normally, Sachiko was a kindly, mild-mannered woman who rarely lost her temper. But when she did, it struck fear into even Soichiro Yagami.

Who was now shrinking away from her.

"Uh, I…I…" he stammered.

"Why do you have to pull your police interrogation routine every time Sayu meets a boy?" Sachiko snarled.

"I just wanted to find out more about the boy…" protested Soichiro.

"By scaring the daylights out of him?" snapped Sachiko. "Its no wonder very few people dare to visit Sayu or Raito."

"Well, I have a right to interrogate them!" retorted Soichiro. "Especially after I found that Raito had sex with that boneheaded girl of his!"

"That was a long time ago," said Sachiko dismissively. "Do you know what really happened?"

"Raito had sex, what else could happen?" said the head of the Yagami family stubbornly.

Sachiko sighed. Sometimes her husband could really be exasperating.

"Raito went to pick up Misa for their date on that day," she began. "It seems that Misa had been drinking. Using her manager, who obeyed her blindly, she practically forced herself on Raito at her apartment. Thank God the manager had the sense to make Raito wear a condom."

"When Misa sobered, she was devastated by what she did. She grew frightened and nearly committed suicide. Raito stopped her by saying that he enjoyed it. That led to Misa wanting a confirmation. So Raito was forced to prove it to her so that she wouldn't kill herself."

Soichiro was quiet, pale with shock.

"Why…why didn't he come to me?" he said weakly.

Sachiko raised an eyebrow.

"After your behaviour today, I thought it would be obvious," she said coldly.

Soichiro flinched. He didn't expect her to be so blunt.

He sat down on the couch, looking ashamed. He had punished Light without checking properly. He had jumped to conclusions and ended up punishing his son wrongly. It was contrary to everything he did in his work.

He felt Sachiko placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

"You shouldn't be so harsh on them," she said in a kinder tone. "It'll just scare them away."

Soichiro reached up to hold her small hand in his own beefy one.

"You're right, as always," he said wearily. "What would I do without you?"

Sachiko smiled.

"You'd probably never come home."

LLLLLLLLL

"So, why were you grounded?" asked L curiously.

Both L and Light were sitting on the floor of Light's room, munching on some sweets. They had all but finished their presentation and had nothing better to do. Light didn't want L to leave, and L didn't want to leave either. So they had just fooled around for a bit until L brought up the question.

Light sighed.

"It was because of Misa…" he began.

L suddenly felt a fiery sensation in his heart. It made him unable to think clearly, rationally and above all, it made him angry.

Struggling to control this newfound emotions, L forced himself to listen to the rest of Light's story.

"…she tried to get me to have sex with her again, but I refused. Then, while I was trying to get her to leave my room, my dad walked in and found us. He jumped to conclusions and figured out that I'm not a virgin anymore and grounded me after kicking Misa out of the house."

L took it all in. Then, something occurred to him.

"What do you mean by 'again'?" he asked.

Light didn't answer for awhile, opting to look at the floor instead.

"Light-kun?" prompted L quietly.

"I had sex with Misa before, L," said Light quietly.

L looked away, the fiery sensation in his heart turning into a sharp pain instead.

His eyes widened.

_Why am I feeling these things?_

"L?" said Light, concerned. He reached forward to touch L's shoulder but to his surprise, L backed away.

"That was your game, wasn't it?" said L harshly.

Light's jaw dropped in surprise. He had never heard L talk in such a bitter or venomous tone before.

"What game?" asked Light worriedly. "What are you talking about, L?"

"Don't try to play dumb, Yagami," hissed L, backing away from Light. "I should have known better."

"L…" said Light, confused. What on earth was L talking to about?

"You've bedded the famous Misa, haven't you?" snarled the raven head. "Now just to prove to yourself you can, you wanted to do the same to me, didn't you? I thought you wanted to get close to me, but all you wanted was to play around with me! Well it worked! I thought you actually cared for me, but I was wrong!"

Light was growing even more confused while L rambled on. What was L so upset about? Suddenly, he saw that L had tears in his eyes. Acting purely out of instinct, Light reached out and pulled L into an embrace.

L squeaked in surprise but struggled as hard as could to get out of Light's hold, but Light held on firmly.

Finally, L broke down and cried into the taller boy's chest.

Light quietly held the sobbing boy, his hold not loosening for a second.

He didn't even notice when Soichiro quietly opened the door.

The older Yagami watched with surprise but withdrew, deciding not to disturb them.

Finally, after L had calmed down enough, Light asked him the question that was hovering in his head.

"What did I do to upset you, L?"

L hiccupped slightly, biting his thumb.

"It…it wasn't you, Light-kun," he said. "I…I don't know what came over me…I felt upset at the thought that you slept with someone else…"

Light sighed. "Would you like to know to the whole story, L?"

L nodded.

So Light told L what Sachiko told Soichiro earlier.

LLLLLLLL

L was quiet after Light finished his story.

He was stunned and ashamed at the same time.

He had jumped to conclusions without hearing Light's side of the story. He had assumed that Light had been like _that _person…

"I'm so sorry Light-kun, I wouldn't have said all those things if I knew that Misa raped you," he said.

"It's all right, L," answered Light. "But I want to know something, why did you react that way?"

L was quiet. He was afraid to reveal that part of his past that he had kept buried for awhile.

"Light-kun, you know that I've always been a social outcast, right?" he said.

Light nodded.

"Well, that wasn't always the case," said L. "Three years ago, I had a boyfriend."

Light blinked. L was gay?

"His name was Kira. He looks quite similar to you, except that his hair is black. Anyway, at the time, I was a social outcast. But I kept trying to make friends, I really tried, Light-kun. But they kept rejecting me. Finally, I met Kira. He accepted me at once. He was very much like you…he was kind, caring and very open with me. We became friends and after awhile, he asked me to be his boyfriend. I agreed."

L paused here, trying to get his thoughts back together.

"It was an incredible experience for me. I've never felt so cared for before in my life. At the time, I believed he loved me…how wrong I was."

L laughed bitterly.

"How wrong I was," he said again. "It turns out that Kira was the worst kind of person. If it weren't for Mello…who knows what might have happened?"

"L, what did he do?" asked Light urgently.

"Mello found out that Kira was going to have sex with me and record the whole thing," said L in a trembling voice. "He would post it online and in front of the entire school. He would have crushed me completely."

"Mello stopped him?" asked Light, glad that L had the hot-headed blonde as a brother.

L shook his head. "Mello told me all about it. I didn't believe him at first, but Mello told me to go check Kira's room when…when Kira was going to…to do it."

L began to shake and he hugged his knees tighter in an attempt to hide it.

"It was true. Kira hid the camera in a vase facing the bed. I was devastated. I left Kira right there and transfer to the school here within the following weeks. Later on, I heard that Kira died in a car crash. But he had left his mark on me. From that day on, I refused to mingle with people. I was scared to, scared that they would try to use me like Kira did. I wanted to be loved, but now I know that no one could ever love me…"

"L, don't say that," said Light sadly.

"Sorry, Light-kun," mumbled L, not looking at him. "I must have bored you…"

"No, L," said Light, reaching out to hold L's shoulders. "I'm glad you told me. Kira had no right to do what he did. But I'm sad that he affected you so. Please, don't say you can't be loved. You can. You will be. I don't understand how Kira could do anything like that to someone, especially to someone as wonderful as you."

L felt his cheeks reddened slightly. Did Light just described him as 'wonderful'? Light was now looking at him so tenderly that it made him uncomfortable. Light's hand was now running through his ebony hair while the other was squeezing his shoulder comfortingly.

Light looked at the smaller boy before him. L was just so…beautiful. The light of the sun played across his pale skin and made it look brighter than it actually is. L's dark hair was soft and silky to the touch and his eyes…his eyes were so dark and deep the Light felt himself drowning in them.

Suddenly, his heart began to race faster. Without realising, Light leaned forward slowly towards L. His face was inches from L's but then, the other boy turned away.

"Light-kun…I'm not ready for this…" said L quietly.

Light lowered his eyes, disappointed.

"…not yet."

Light raised his eyes hopefully.

L reached out tentatively and shyly took Light's hand in his own.

"I'd love to try again," L said earnestly. "But I can't do it while you're still with Misa. I hope you understand, Light-kun?"

Light nodded, knowing that it wasn't fair to both L and Misa if he juggled them both. He felt any feeling he had for Misa had faded away a long time ago and his feelings for L were starting to burn stronger.

"I should go now," said L, releasing Light's hand and standing up.

"L?" asked Light. "You said that you transferred school, which school did you transfer from?"

"It was a private boarding school in Osaka," answered L. "Mello and I both attended there for awhile. Near was in another school there."

Light was surprised, was that why he never saw L before despite the other being living here for fifteen years?

"Is that why I never saw you around before?" asked Light.

L nodded. "We only came back for the holidays and we…didn't get out much. Well, I didn't."

Light nodded and escorted L down.

After getting Near, L was about to leave when Light stopped him again.

"L…" he said in a low voice so that Near and Sayu couldn't hear him. "If I leave Misa, would you give me a chance?"

L smiled softly.

"I already said I would, baka," he said, gently poking Light on the nose.

He turned and left with Near.

Light just stood there, a smile on his face.

Sayu noticed and grinned.

"Aw…oni-san likes L-chan!" she squealed.

Light blushed and turned away, but he didn't even try to deny it.

"Kya! It's true!" squealed Sayu again.

Light chuckled.

"Yes, Sayu, it's true," he said, mimicking Sayu's squeal. "Just like it's true that you like Near-chan!"

It was Sayu turn to blush.

The two siblings bickered with each other about the people they liked until the sun went down.

lllllllllllllllllll

so...feelings are finally blossoming between our two favourite characters...but L is still afraid to take the leap...what will happen next?? do tell me your thoughts...i enjoy them very much...so pls...review??

next chapter coming soon...


	9. Chapter 9

sorry for the late update...again...work...enjoy...

* * *

Ryuk was impressed.

And that was saying a lot.

He hadn't expected L and Light to have a fantastic presentation. L was actually addressing his peers during the presentation!

Ryuk smiled quietly. He was glad.

So glad in fact, that he didn't realise that they were done until a student addressed him.

"Um…Ryuk-sensei?" she said. "Your evaluation?"

Ryuk started. "Huh? Evaluation? Oh, right."

He stood up and went to the front of the classroom. He looked around, thinking of what to say but realising that he couldn't say much as he hadn't listen to the actual presentation.

Finally, he said: "That was good, you pass…"

"…just a pass?" groaned Light.

"…with distinction," finished Ryuk, rolling his eyes.

L and Light seemed satisfied and they both went back to their seats.

Ryuk looked up at the clock over his desk and saw that it was almost four.

"We'll continue tomorrow," he said. "Now you guys have ten minutes to do whatever you want before the bell rings."

L sat quietly at his sit while Light talked with some girls nearby.

He can't help but feel jealous as he watched Light talked to them, despite the fact that they weren't going out.

Suddenly, Light caught his eye and winked.

For some reason, this calmed L and he felt somewhat silly for his previous feelings.

Then, the bell rang.

Light walked over to L as the other boy packed his things.

"Going to fetch Near today?" he asked.

L shook his head.

"Mello will handle that today," he said. "I have to go somewhere else."

Light tilted his head curiously.

"Where?" he asked.

L smiled slightly.

"Always asking questions aren't you?" he stated.

Light grinned.

The two of them walked to the school gates, Light pestering L to tell him where he was going.

"I don't think you'll like the place, Light-kun," said L.

"Oh come on, L," said Light. "You haven't even taken me there yet, how would you know if I would like it or not?"

L raised his thumb to his lips. Light had a point. He was different from the other people the L had met before. Could he be different in this matter as well?

"Most people don't…appreciate the place I'm going to," L tried again.

Light raised an eyebrow.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, L," he began irritably. "I'm not like most people. Give me a chance will you?"

L thought about it. Would Light think lowly of him after seeing the place he's going to? Maybe, but L felt that Light wouldn't.

"Well…" he began but was interrupted.

"Yagami-senpai!"

L and Light turned to see four younger students running up to them.

One of them, apparently a jock if his build was any indicator, spoke up.

"We saw what was happening," he said. "We thought we could help."

"Help?" repeated Light, frowning. "Help with what?"

"We saw that creep harassing you," said one of the juniors. "We wanted to stop him."

"What creep?" asked Light, looking around in confusion.

"That creep!" cried one of them, pointing right at L, who recoiled as though they've just punched him.

Light blinked for a moment before realisation dawned on him.

"I think you're mistaken," he said severely. "He wasn't harassing me; we were just having a conversation."

The juniors stared at him for a moment and burst out laughing.

"That's a good one, senpai!" one of them said, wiping tears from his eyes. "_The _Light Yagami, the most popular guy in school talking to the freak?"

They started laughing again.

Light looked at L, who was looking very hurt and close to tears. He felt his blood begin to boil.

_How dare they! How dare they make fun of L like that!_

"I…I…I better leave," stammered L, turning to the gate.

"That's right, freak!" jeered one of the juniors. "Go back to that dark pit that you call home!"

Light had had enough.

Growling, he dropped his bag, marched up to the junior and began to beat the living hell out of him.

"Light-kun!" cried L, running forward and with great difficulty, pulled Light off the stunned and now bloody junior.

"Don't any of you dare say that again!" roared Light, still trying to throw a few more punches in as L restrained him. "Don't you dare make fun of L! You hear me? He's my friend, a _real _friend! I won't allow any of you to put him down like that!"

The juniors, dragging the bloody comrade, fled.

Light glared after them, breathing heavily.

L continued to hold on to him, scared that he would chase after those juniors.

After awhile, Light calmed down and told L to let go of him.

L obeyed, looking at Light with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but apparently he was at loss for words.

Light spoke first.

"They had no right to say that," he said bluntly. "They deserved it."

L closed his mouth and looked at the ground. Light had just stood up for him. For _him_! This was more than L could have ever thought possible. Light really cared, he really did! L was so overwhelmed that he didn't know what to say.

He wanted to thank Light, wanted to show Light that he was so grateful for what he just did. But he felt that words are not enough to convey his feelings. What should he say?

Finally, he said softly.

"Do you still want to go to that place with me?"

Light smirked.

"You're welcome."

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Near smiled when Sayu greeted him.

He really found the girl charming, friendly and…pretty.

"So is L-chan fetching you today?" asked Sayu.

"No, Mello is," answered Near, shaking his head. He turned to the gate, looking out for his blonde brother.

Suddenly, he felt a hand take his own.

Turning, he saw that it was Sayu, holding his hand and her face was slightly pink.

"Um…Near-chan?" she said shyly.

Near's eyes widened slightly. It was most unusual for Sayu to say anything shyly.

"Are you all right, Sayu-chan?" he asked concernedly.

Sayu nodded. "I'm fine, Near. But I need to ask you something…"

She blushed.

Near was alarmed. What was wrong with her? Maybe she's falling ill? What was it that she wanted to ask him?

"Do you like me, Near-chan?" Sayu asked shyly.

Near blinked for a moment, unsure that he had heard her correctly.

After awhile he spoke up.

"Sayu…of course I like you, you're my best friend."

Sayu shook her head.

"I've got not doubts about that," she said. "What I meant was…do you _like like _me?"

Near's face turned bright red. He was too shocked to speak.

He always knew that he liked Sayu, but did he like her that way? He knew that L and Mello were both gay and had always figured out that he would end up like them. But now that he was asked, he realised that he did have feelings for the girl. She was different from other people. She was _special_.

"I…I…" Near stammered, but then…

"Hey, pipsqueak!"

Near turned and saw Mello and Matt walking towards him. Mello had a huge grin on his face while Matt look a little flustered. His shirt was also messy as though he had just put them on in a hurry.

Mello stopped and looked at Near and Sayu. His grin grew even wider.

"Hey! So this is your girlfriend?" he asked cheerily.

"No!" both Near and Sayu cried simultaneously, blushing.

"Then why are you both holding hands?" asked Mello, snorting with laughter.

Sayu and Near looked down and saw that their hands were still clasped together.

Blushing even harder, they both let go.

Mello guffawed as Matt walked forward, smiling slightly.

"All right you two, let's go," he said.

Near nodded and followed the two older boys.

Sayu watched him go wistfully. He still hadn't answered her.

Then, Near turned around to look at her. He smiled softly and nodded his head.

Sayu smiled back.

That just answered everything she needed to know.

LLLLLLLLL

"Ah, Lawliet-san, I haven't seen you in a while," said Anezaki, wiping his dusty glasses.

"Ah, I've been busy with school lately," answered L, smiling at the old man.

Anezaki smiled back and then noticed the other boy behind L.

"Hello there," he greeted. "Who is this young man?"

"Mr. Anezaki, this is Light Yagami, my class…my friend," said L. "Light-kun, this is Mr. Anezaki, the curator of this museum."

Light and the old curator shook hands in the formal western way. L had to stifle a giggle, the two of them were so solemn it was as though they were meeting at a funeral.

"L tells me that your museum houses the finest fak…I mean, the finest replicas of world famous artefacts," said Light politely.

Anezaki smiled.

"You can say fakes," he said, causing Light to smile sheepishly. "That's what they are anyway. You can go in for free; Lawliet-san can show you around. He knows this place as well as the back of his hand."

L nodded and eagerly led Light into the museum.

Anezaki watched the two boys go, smiling. He had seen a lot in his long life and knew love when he saw it. Those two had a bond with each other that was so deep that they were likely unaware of it.

He shook his head, still smiling. He was glad that L had someone at last.

Suddenly, he felt a vibration in his pocket. Reaching into it, he pulled out his cell phone.

On the screen flashed: _Watari _

Surprised, Anezaki answered the call.

"It's been a long time, Watari," he said.

"Mamoru," answered an elderly kind voice on the other line. "It's good to hear from you again."

"Likewise, old friend," answered Anezaki.

A short pause, then he spoke again.

"Does this mean you'll be returning to Japan?" he asked.

"I just arrived at the airport," answered Watari. "How are my grandsons?"

"Mello is the same as always but Near has changed a lot," replied Anezaki. "In fact, I believe that he has a girlfriend."

"I see," said Watari, chuckling. "Isn't he a bit too young?"

"Not as young as we were when we started going out," said Anezaki, his voice hardening.

Watari was silent on the other side.

"Mamoru…I don't want to go through that again…" he said sadly. "You knew how much it tore me up…"

"As much as it tore me up?" asked Anezaki harshly.

Again, silence.

"L has changed a lot," said Anezaki, changing the topic. "He just walked in today with a friend. I think that they may be smitten with each other."

"Really?" said Watari, sounding genuinely surprised. "I must meet that person then. Could you please inform Mello and Near that I would be arriving in about an hour? Don't tell L, I want to surprise him."

"Of course," replied Anezaki.

"Mamoru…" came Watari's voice softly over the line. "I really am sorry…"

"Just go and meet your grandsons," interrupted Anezaki, ending the call.

He leaned over the counter, breathing heavily. Even though it has been nearly five decades since _it _happened, talking to Watari still hurts him.

Shaking it off, he dialled Ryuk's number.

LLLLLLLLLL

Light was impressed by the replicas. Everything he saw, the Sarcophagus of King Tut, the fabled Capstone of the Great Pyramid, the weapon of the Malaysian legendary hero: Hang Tuah's Taming Sari and a lot more, were crafted in such detail similar to the original that he could not see the difference.

However, what intrigued him even more was L. His raven-haired friend had simply transformed the moment he set foot in the gallery. He became like a child eager to show its mother some new discovery.

The way L pulled him by the hand to show him some of the replicas and the way he chattered excitedly, Light found it endearing.

Now, L had pulled him over to what looked like the replica of a grave.

"What's this, L?" asked Light, looking around the place curiously.

"This is the replica of the grave of Esmeralda," said L quietly. "Have you ever heard that name before, Light-kun?"

Light shook his head.

"Are you familiar with Victor Hugo's the Hunchback of Notre Dame?" asked L.

Light nodded.

"Then you are familiar with the ending?"

Light tilted his head slightly. "Refresh my memory, L."

"Esmeralda was rescued by Quasimodo, the hunchback. He cared for her and kept her safe from Frollo and the witch-hunters. Are you following me?"

Light nodded.

"But Esmeralda couldn't see past his deformities. She was instead foolishly smitten with the Phoebus. All that eventually led to her death."

Light nodded, and then a thought occurred to him.

"Esmeralda is a fictional character," he said. "Why is there a replica of her grave here?"

L smiled. "Not all the artefacts displayed here exist, Light-kun. Some of them are mythical, Anezaki simply created those based on what he thought they would look like."

Light frowned. "I still don't get why you showed me this grave."

L nodded. "After Esmeralda died, her body was sealed away in a crypt. Quasimodo, the only one who was truly devoted to her, went to seal himself with her. He died with her. He loved her despite her scorn, her fear and narrow-minded view of him. It's one sided, but its love."

Light began to see the parallel. L too, was scorned by the general populace. Those people couldn't see past his eccentricities and judged him solely on that. But was it possible, that this was L's way of telling Light that he liked him? If it was, it wouldn't be one sided. That would be all the difference between L and Quasimodo.

Deciding to take the risk, Light walked forward towards L.

Before L realised what was happening, he found his lips trapped by Light's.

Eyes widening in surprise, he tried to pull away but found Light's arms around him, pulling him closer. He tried to struggle, but he found himself enjoying it instead. It was so different from Kira.

Where Kira was possessive and rough, Light was gentle.

Where Kira was lustful, Light was loving.

L closed his eyes and tentatively wrapped his arms around Light's neck. The two of them stayed locked together like that for a long while.

Light was crying for joy in his mind. He knew now that he really loved L, that he couldn't bear to be without him. He made up his mind there. To hell with Misa, he wanted L.

He'll break up with her, if she wanted to commit suicide…well, that was her problem.

But for now, Light just wanted to enjoy his first kiss with L.

lllllllllllllllllllllll

so there you have it...Light is finally going to get rid of Misa...but will Misa go quietly??...we all know her better than that, don't we??...anyways...tell me what you guys think (review)... :D

next chapter coming soon...


	10. Chapter 10

here's the next chap!!...enjoy...

* * *

L walked up to the door of his home, feeling a little giddy. He turned to the smiling brown haired boy behind him.

"See you tomorrow then, Light-kun?" he asked.

"Of course," said Light, smiling at L so warmly that the other boy blushed.

"Good night then, Light-kun," L said shyly.

"Raito," said Light.

L blinked at him, not comprehending.

"Call me Raito from now on," said Light. "That's what all the people close to me calls me."

Raito.

L liked the sound of that.

"Good night then…Raito," said L quietly.

Light smiled and leaned forward to plant a kiss on L's forehead. He left L looking extremely happy.

L opened the door to his home and was immediately greeted by an excited Near. His younger brother was practically bouncing on his toes, chattering away excitedly.

"You're back! You're back!" the white-haired boy squeaked excitedly. "Someone's here to see you!"

L frowned. Apart from Light and Matt, no one came to visit them, much less him.

Before L had time to think about it however, Near had grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards the living room.

"Near, calm down," said L as they entered the living room. "What got you so…"

L trailed off when he saw an old man sitting on the sofa opposite Matt and Mello.

The old man was dressed in a fine suite. Despite his advanced age, he still had a fine crop of white hair on his head and a thick moustache to match. His wrinkled face looked solemn but his gray eyes twinkled with mirth and kindness as they looked at L.

L's mouth fell open.

"Watari?"

The old man just smiled back at L, making him look like beardless Santa Claus.

"Are you just going to gape at me, child?" he said. "Or are you going to give your grandfather a hug?"

L stood silently for a moment, stunned.

Then, he ran forward to embrace his grandfather.

"You're back!" he cried. "I wasn't expecting you for another half year!"

Watari chuckled as he hugged his eldest grandson back. He had really missed all three of them. Being a businessman, a successful one at that, required him to travel overseas a lot as he owned many businesses all over the world. But despite his busy schedule, his heart and thoughts were always in Japan where the people he loved most were.

"Ah, business was so good this year, I thought I should take a break," he said, releasing L.

He studied his eldest grandson. L had changed a lot. He no longer looked morose and forbidding. His pale skin now had a healthy glow to it, his usually emotionless dark eyes were glittering with joy and best of all, L was smiling! It wasn't the usual sad or wistful smile that Watari had grown used to. It was a real smile, one full of joy and love.

This brought a smile to Watari's lips.

"Since it's my first night back," he said. "Why don't we go out for dinner?"

"Yay!" cried Near happily.

Mello looked a little sad at this. He had been hoping to spend the night with Matt, but family came first.

Matt smiled understandingly. He kissed Mello on cheek on was about to leave when Watari spoke to him.

"Don't leave Matt, why don't you join us as well?"

Matt stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, thank you sir," he said. "But I don't want to intrude on your family time…"

"Nonsense!" said Watari. "You spend so much time here, you are family! No arguments, my boy!"

Matt still looked uncertain.

"Besides, I think Mello would love your company," Watari added slyly, making both Matt and Mello blush.

"Thank you sir," said Matt, his face still red. How on earth did Watari know about his and Mello's relationship?

L smiled as he followed his family out the door. Things just kept getting better and better.

LLLLLLLL

Light was smiling all the way through dinner. Everyone noticed it.

"Something good happened today, Raito?" asked Soichiro suspiciously. Light still didn't know that his father had seen him and L the day that L had freaked out.

"Oh, nothing much," said Light cheerfully. "Just that I got a distinction for my English presentation."

Sachiko and Soichiro nodded their approval. But it hardly explained Light sudden happy mood. Light getting distinction in his subjects was a normal occurrence after all.

"How is Lawliet-san?" asked Soichiro.

"Oh, he's fine," answered Light. "He and I just went to that old museum not far from here. It's very interesting."

"The two of you seem to be getting closer," said Soichiro casually.

Both Light and Sayu fell silent.

Light's heart was beating quickly. Did his father know? Of course, he had planned on telling his parents, but it seems that his father had already got to the truth.

He wondered how his parents would react…

"Raito, I saw both of you in your room that day," said Soichiro. "I saw the way Lawliet-san held on to you, like he felt safe with you…don't mess that up okay?"

Light blinked. Did he just hear his father correctly?

"I couldn't care less if you like another man," continued Soichiro. "At least you had the sense to fall for an intelligent one. I'd rather you go out with him than that dim-witted girl Misa."

Light couldn't believe it! His father was actually agreeing to his and L's relationship and he didn't even have to say anything! This was incredible!

"Does Misa know?" asked Sachiko anxiously.

That dampened Light's good mood considerably. He hadn't told Misa yet, and he didn't want to put up with the outburst the girl was certain to give when Light pulled the plug on their farce relationship.

But he knew he had to. It wasn't fair to L if he juggled both of them at the same time.

"You should tell her, Raito," said Sachiko anxiously. "That girl is unstable, if she finds out by herself…there's no telling what she'll do."

"I know, oka-san," answered Light, getting up to leave the table. "But I'll have to think through first."

Light went up to his room and crashed on the bed. He was considering the possible reactions he would get from Misa if…when he told her.

The problem is, the girl is extremely unpredictable when it came to Light. Once, when Misa decided to wait for Light to finish school, she saw a fan girl actually clinging to his arms. Misa had beaten the girl within an inch of her life. The victim was hospitalised for several months and when she came back, she was so traumatized that she didn't dare to talk to anyone and eventually was sent to a mental asylum for freaking out after seeing Misa again.

Then there was that incident where Misa had had sex with him forcibly…Light didn't want to think about it. It was horrible that he had to practically force himself to get turned on by Misa. What made it worse was that ever since; Misa had been trying to get him to do it again. Like what happened several days ago.

Light was distracted from his thoughts when his cell phone rang. He looked at the screen and groaned. Sure enough, Misa's name was flashing across the screen. Light really didn't want to deal with her right now. So he decided he wouldn't.

Right after the phone stopped ringing, he switched it off.

Sighing with relief, Light lay back on his bed, focusing his thoughts on more pleasant matters.

Like L.

LLLLLLLL

"Is there a particular reason you've decided to visit me at ten o'clock at night?" asked Rem irritably, glaring at her dark haired colleague who was now looking at her innocently.

"Can't a friend just come to say hello, Rem-chan?" asked Ryuk innocently.

Rem glared at him. "Are you stalking me, Ryuk-san?"

Ryuk waggled a long finger at her.

"Not at all," he said. "I just wanted to ask if you would like to go out with me for a cup of coffee?"

Rem stared at Ryuk as though he had just lost his mind. "Now?"

Ryuk grinned. "Of course!"

"Can't you just come in and have a cup of coffee here instead?" suggested Rem wearily. She had long given up trying to figure out the English teacher's oddities.

Ryuk pouted. (A/N: Eew…)

"While I'm sure you can make excellent coffee, Rem-chan," he began. "It's not the same. I want to show you something!"

"Will you stop your late night visits if I do?" asked Rem, exasperated.

"It's a deal!" cried Ryuk, giving her a thumb up.

Rem sighed, defeated.

"I'll get my coat."

LLLLLLLLLL

Rem studied her colleague suspiciously. He was just sipping his coffee and occasionally took bites out his apple. He always seems to have one.

Rem sipped her own coffee and looked around.

They were sitting outside a nice little café called Kopitiam. Apparently, it was a popular café in the country of Malaysia which had just began to have a few international branches. The café was facing a fancy restaurant.

Ryuk hadn't said anything since they ordered their coffees and quite frankly, Rem found it unnerving.

After awhile, Rem couldn't take it anymore.

"Ryuk-san, what is it are you trying to show me?" she asked.

Ryuk looked at her with genuine surprise.

"You mean you haven't seen it yet?" he asked.

"See what?" snapped Rem.

Ryuk shook his head.

"I thought that you would be more observant," he muttered and pointed at the restaurant across the street.

Rem turned to look and at first she could see nothing extraordinary about the place.

"What's so special about the restaurant?" she demanded.

Ryuk was actually looking annoyed now.

"Not the restaurant," he said. "Inside it!"

Rem turned to look through the big window of the restaurant and finally saw what Ryuk was trying to show her.

It was L and his family.

L was sitting beside a little white-haired boy who had a teddy bear in his lap as he ate the food he had ordered. He dribbled some of it down his chin and L helped him clean up the mess.

Across the two, was a blonde and red-haired boy. The blonde had an arm draped across the red-head's shoulder and was leaning against the side of the red-head's head suggestively. The blonde did something that made the red-head blushed and this made both L and the white-haired boy laughed.

Rem simply watched, mesmerised.

An old man sat at the head of the table, smiling as though the whole world had found peace. He reached and ruffled L's hair, saying something that made L embarrassed if the blush on his face was any indicator.

Ryuk smiled as his colleague just watched the family.

After awhile, the white-haired boy had fallen asleep and was resting his head on L's lap. The red-head too was dozing off on the blonde's shoulder.

L said something to the old man and the old man nodded. He called for the bill and after paying, the family left.

Apparently, they were walking.

L was carrying the white-haired boy in his arms, the smaller boy wrapping his arms around L's neck and burying his face into L's shoulder. The old man was guiding the sleepy blonde and red-head with a hand on both of their shoulders.

Rem was astounded by the change on L's face. L looked so happy and content as though he had no troubles in the world. It was as though L had transformed into a completely different person.

His whole presence had become uplifting and Rem felt her normally uptight demeanour loosen up.

As the family walked away, Rem turned to Ryuk and for the first time that night, she smiled at him.

Ryuk grinned. "Liked what you saw?"

Rem just smiled. "How did you know they were going to be here?"

"I just dug around," answered her black haired counterpart.

Rem nodded. She was thinking about something.

"Ryuk-san," she said at last. "It's getting late and its not safe to walk alone at night…would you like to stay the night?"

Ryuk's grin widened even further.

"I'd love that, Rem-chan," purred Ryuk.

Rem realised what Ryuk was thinking about and quickly, she switched back to her stern demeanour.

"You will sleep on the couch, of course," she said.

Ryuk's face fell comically. "You're no fun!"

Rem smirked inwardly.

"That's why I'm a teacher."

LLLLLLLL

Misa was furious. Light hadn't been answering her calls and it was making her really angry and paranoid.

"Light-chan is seeing someone else!" she yelled at her manager, who recoiled from her wrath. "I know it! I want you to find out who! Find out! Do whatever it takes!"

Her manager, a weak man called Matsuda, nodded and left.

Misa took in a deep breathe and turned to her mirror.

Her mirror was like an altar, it had pictures of Light all over its frame and Misa looked upon those hungrily.

Light was hers! No one else can have him!

"Looks like you're obsessed with that guy," said a suave voice behind her.

Misa turned to see a man sitting on her couch.

He was dressed in a black overcoat. He looked a lot like Light, except that his hair was black and a there was a scar across his face. His black eyes had none of Light's warmth. Instead, they were sharp, cold and deadly.

"I believe your precious Light is seeing someone," he drawled. "I think it's someone I know very well."

Upon hearing this information, Misa forgot about the fact that a potentially dangerous stranger was in her room.

"What?" she shrieked. "Who is it? Tell me!"

The man looked at her with amusement.

"All in good time," he drawled, standing up. "I need to make sure first, then I'll tell you. If it is who I think it is, we can come to an agreement that will give us both what we want."

He turned to leave.

"Oi!" yelled Misa. "At least tell me your name so that I know I can trust you!"

The man turned to look at her with those dreadful black orbs.

"My name is Kira," he said. "Remember it."

llllllllllllllllllllll

oh no!!...Kira is back!!...what will happen to L and Light now??...find out next chapter!!...pls comment...(review)

by the way...Kopitiam is an actual cafe in Malaysia...but i've never been there myself... :D

next chapter coming soon...


	11. Chapter 11

a thousand apologies for the very late update...i had a hectic week...presentations to do...projects to handle...plus my internet connection broke down two days ago...just got i back online...anyway...enjoy...

* * *

Much to the chagrin of most of the student body, L and Light kept growing closer over the next few days and eventually became inseparable. Wherever L was, Light was there and vice versa.

It soon became a common phrase in the school whenever anyone looks for wither one of them: "Find L, then you'll find Light."

Many of the students, especially Light's fan girls began to suspect that the two were having a relationship. But despite spying on the duo numerous times, they could not find anything in their behaviour that indicated that the two were having more than just a friendly relationship.

They decided to take matters into their own hands.

One day, when Light had to go back early for a function, they cornered L.

"What black magic did you use on poor Light-chan?" one of them demanded.

"He must have used voodoo on him!"

"He must have seduced him!"

L recoiled as they continued to hurl abuses at him. He tried to explain that Light befriended him out of his own will but they drowned him out with their shouting.

Finally, L could take it no more.

"SHUT UP!" he roared.

The fan girls were so stunned that they all fell silent. This was the first time that they had heard L shout.

"Is it so wrong for me to be friends with Light-kun?" continued L, his voice shaking. "Why do you have to oppose my friendship with him? I'm also human! I want someone to call my friend too!"

He paused to catch his breath, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Is it because I look like such a freak that you guys are against the idea? I'm not entitled to have a friend just because of the way I look? If that's true, then you all are nothing but narrow-minded, cheap and shallow bitches!"

L ran past them, crying.

He left all of Light's fan girls stunned and some of them even felt guilty.

LLLLLLLLL

L ran all the way home, crying. The moment he reached home, he threw his bag down on the floor and ran up to his room.

Once inside, he threw open the mini-fridge in his room and took out a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Tears still rolling down his cheeks, he began to devour it.

He tried to drown out the pain in his heart with the sweetness of the ice-cream, but for the first time, it didn't work.

He needed something else.

No, he needed someone.

He needed Raito.

He needed Raito comfort him, to hold him and love him.

Letting out anguished cry, L threw the ice-cream down on the floor and buried his face into his knees and wept.

LLLLLLL

Watari was reading a newspaper with a cup of tea when he heard L returned.

He frowned.

Something was wrong. Watari just knew it.

Firstly, L didn't greet him like he always did.

Secondly, L simply threw his bag down on the floor instead of taking it up to his room.

Finally, L was crying.

Watari hadn't seen L cry for a long time. In fact, he had only seen L cried three times in his life. The first was when Watari first took the boy in. The second was after that Kira incident and this was the third.

Sighing, Watari put down the newspaper he was readingwhen upstairs and knocked on the door softly.

"L?" he said.

There was no response.

Frowning even harder, Watari opened the door.

He saw the melting ice-cream on the floor and he saw L, hugging his knees and burying his face against them.

He was sobbing.

Watari kneeled down before his grandson and placed his hands on L's shoulders.

"L?" said Watari again.

L didn't answer him.

Watari sighed.

"Eru?" he said, hoping that the use of L's Japanese name would garner a response from the boy.

L looked up at Watari with red eyes.

"Eru, what happened?" asked the old man.

L stared back at Watari, his mouth moving but no words were coming out.

"Eru…" said Watari again, but then, L spoke up.

"They were saying things about me," he said in a choking voice. "They said I did things to make Light-kun pay attention to me…they said I seduced him…they…"

L just rambled on, his eyes wide and his entire body trembling.

Watari felt a surge of anger. How dare those people hurt his grandson! L may look stoic and emotionless all the time, but in reality, he was frail emotionally.

Even more so since what Kira did or rather, nearly did to him.

But he also knew that L had to harden himself against those traumatic memories. He had to, or else he could never face the world.

"Eru," said Watari kindly, "I don't know how else to say this, but you have to stop caring about those insults that people throw at you. Those people don't know you like we do…like Light-san knows you."

L looked up at Watari.

"The way you know me?" he repeated, sniffing slightly.

Watari nodded.

"Those people are just shallow minded," he said. "Don't let them get to you, Eru. Forget about the bad things; think about the good things in your life."

"Like what?" asked L miserably.

"Like Light-san," said Watari, smiling a bit. "I haven't met him, but I could see how much he changed you. You're happy now, aren't you?"

L didn't reply, his cheeks slightly pink.

"Don't let a bunch of simple fools ruin it for you," said Watari.

L was quiet for awhile, thinking it over in his head. He realised that Watari was right. Raito had made him happier than he had ever been in his entire life. Why should he let a bunch of stupid girls spoil it for him? Watari said that there were other good things in his life. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't just Raito. There was Mello and Matt. They kept his spirits up. Near, of course…

L's eyes widened.

"Oh no," he said softly, standing up so quickly that Watari was alarmed.

"What's wrong?" the old man asked as L rushed to the door.

"I forgot about Near!" answered L as he hurtled down the stairs and out the door.

Watari smiled a bit. It seems that L was going to be fine. But what about Near? How would the boy overcome his attachment to L? Maybe with some help from that girl Sayu? Near seems to like her a lot. But then, Near may be to attached to L.

Watari sighed. He knew that dealing with Near is going to be a bit harder.

A lot harder.

LLLLLLLLL

_He's not coming._

_He's left you, just like everyone else did._

_No one wants you._

_Nobody loves you._

_Not even L._

The voices played themselves over and over again in Near's head.

The poor boy was growing more and more frantic behind his calm façade. His grip in the teddy bear he always carried around was growing tighter and tighter until his knuckles were paper white.

He felt the tears coming, but he held them back viciously. He would not let them come so easily. He wasn't a cry-baby!

He looked around, certain that L was coming.

But still, his older brother didn't turn up.

"Near-chan?" said a voice that he knew very well.

Sure enough, when he turned he saw Sayu.

Sayu can immediately tell that something was wrong with Near. The boy looked as calm as ever, but she could see the turmoil in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Near just shook his head wildly and stared back at her with wide eyes.

This confirmed Sayu's suspicion that something was amiss.

"Near, what's wrong?" she asked again.

Again, Near shook his head wildly.

"No…nothing's wrong," he said in an uncharacteristically high voice. His eyes kept darting around as though he was looking for something or someone but didn't expect to find what he was looking for.

Sayu immediately knew what was wrong.

"It's very late, Near," she said. "Where's L?"

Near turned paler than usual.

"He…he…" stammered Near. He seemed to be on the verge of exploding and suddenly, he just did.

"He's not coming!" shouted Near, startling Sayu. "He just abandoned me, like everyone else did! He doesn't care about me at all! He hates me, like _she_ did! He doesn't want me, no one did and no one ever will…"

Sayu was shocked; she never knew that Near had those kinds of thoughts in his head. She knew that Near was always a loner but apparently, there wounds from Near's past that he had been hiding from everyone.

Even her.

"Near…" she said, taking the boy's hand in her own. This seemed to calm Near down as he stopped talking at once, squeezing her hand gently. The white-haired boy looked away from Sayu.

"Near, what were you talking about?" asked Sayu gently. "What did you mean by 'like she did'?"

Near's breathing grew faster as his heart threatened to burst from his chest.

"Why would L abandon you, Near?" pressed Sayu. "I've seen you two together, I know that L loves you."

"I...I know," answered Near quietly. "But I'm still…still scared that he might…"

"Why would he?" asked Sayu.

Near was quiet for awhile, making Sayu fidget with impatience.

"You're going home now, right?" he asked at last.

Sayu nodded, a little surprise by the question.

"Will you walk home with me," Near asked quietly. "For awhile at least. It's a long story."

"All right," replied Sayu.

The two of them walked together in silence for awhile. Sayu could sense that Near was trying to find out a way to start his story. She said nothing, allowing Near to gather himself.

"I was talking about my mother," said Near softly.

"You're mother?" repeated Sayu.

"Please listen, don't say anything until I'm done," said Near quietly.

Sayu nodded and fell silent.

Near took a deep breathe and began his story.

"I'm an illegitimate child, Sayu-chan. My father was a con artist. He was interested in my mother's inheritance and tried many ways to win my mother's heart, including sleeping with her. That's how they got me. Later on, my father fled with my mother's fortune and left me and her behind in a very poor financial situation. He broke her heart and she took it out on me. She kept hitting me because I looked so much like my father. She left me alone at home all the time. I had no one to talk to; I couldn't g out because she kept locking me in."

Near paused for a moment to catch his breath and suppress the pain in his heart.

"I was so lonely, that I turned to some of the old puzzles and toys in the house to fill that emptiness. I also read a lot of books. There were no children books there, it was all adult books. I have never known any happy endings. It was all logic, facts and reality. I realised that my own existence was pretty bleak by then. But it got worse."

Near turned to look at Sayu, tears in his eyes.

"Mother come home one day with a birthday cake. She said it was for me! Can you just imagine how happy I was? My mother was going to celebrate my birthday with me for once in my life! I thought that she had finally come to love me…I was so wrong."

Near let out a hollow laugh.

"She smashed the cake right in my face and started beating me like never before. She was actually trying to break a few bones. She said…horrible things. That I was the son of the Devil; I'm a bastard, a monster and many other things. But the worst thing that she said to me was this: she said that she hated me and will never ever love me."

Sayu looked at the white-haired boy in front of her with a horrified expression. How could anyone do that to their own child? Especially one as beautiful and wonderful as Near?

"I managed to get to my room and locked the door. I stayed there for two days, too scared to leave. Then, on the third day, some men came and took my mother away and took me to a hospital. That's where I met Watari. He said all sorts of kind things to me but I was too traumatised to respond. Then…_he _came."

Near smiled softly as he wiped a tear from his face.

"L came to visit me while I was in the hospital. He didn't say anything but instead, he just gave me this teddy bear. I asked him if he was an angel, he just gave me that sad smile of his and answered: "I'm no angel, but I can be your big brother if you want". I was so happy Sayu-chan; I wanted a brother more than anything else. So L looked after me in the hospital and eventually got me to open up to Watari before bringing me here. I met Mello here."

Near turned to look at Sayu right in the eye.

"That's why I'm so attached to L. That's why this teddy bear is so precious to me. That's why I act a lot like a kid. Its because I'm afraid that once I've become an adult, L would no longer care for me…"

"Baka," said Sayu.

Near looked at her, uncertain if he heard correctly. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're an idiot," cried Sayu, grabbing Near by the shoulders. "You're an idiot if you think that L would stop caring for you just because you've grown up! He might stop babying you, but that doesn't mean he won't love you! I can see how much L cares for you, Near! Don't you dare doubt that!"

Near looked at Sayu with wide eyes, unsure how to respond.

"L loves you, and nothing is going to change that!" said Sayu fiercely.

Near regarded the girl before him. She was really different from the other girls. Where most of them would say what they thought others want to hear, Sayu would say things that they _needed _to hear.

Like now.

Near looked down at the ground and smiled wistfully. "You're right, Sayu-chan."

Then, Sayu did the unexpected: she wrapped her arms around Near and pulled him into a hug.

"I feel so jealous of L, Near," she said, burying her face into Near's shoulder. "He's so close to your heart, I want to be there too."

Near hesitantly returned the hug.

They stayed that way for awhile and would have stayed that way for a long time, but for a cold, menacing voice.

"What's this?" the voice said mockingly. "Little Near is growing up?"

Near looked up to see the voice's owner and gasped in shock.

Sayu looked at the stranger before them. He looked so much like her own brother but for the ebony hair and the scar across his face.

But the real difference was in the eyes. The stranger's eyes were devoid of any warmth and real emotions. They were cold, calculating and sparkled with malice.

"Long time no see, Near," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"No!" cried Near. "You're supposed to be dead!"

The man laughed.

"Have you forgotten, boy?" he sneered. "I'm a heartless wretch. Can't kill someone without a heart, can you?"

"Near, who is this?" asked Sayu fearfully.

"He's Kira, he tried to hurt L before," answered Near.

Kira laughed. "Who's you're girlfriend, Near?"

Near immediately stood protectively in front of Sayu.

"Leave us alone!" he cried.

Again, Kira laughed.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm not interested in you or your girlfriend. Just hello to Eru-chan for me."

Kira turned and left just as suddenly as he appeared.

Near turned to Sayu. "I have to get back and tell L. Kira is a bad man, he's going to try and hurt L, I know it!"

Sayu nodded. "Get home safe, Near."

"You too," said Near and he quickly ran home.

LLLLLLLL

Near ran as fast as he could back home. He had to warn L. Kira was up to no good, he just knew it!

Turning a corner, Near bumped into someone and fell down with a cry of pain.

Looking up, he found himself looking up at his older brother's face.

"Oni-chan!" he cried, standing up to embrace his brother.

"I'm so sorry for being late, Near," said L, his voice full of regret. "Some people tried to hurt me just now…"

"Hurt you?" cried Near in alarm. "Was it Kira?"

L' eyes widened in fear at the mention of the name.

"Kira?" he said. "Kira is dead, Near."

"No he's not!" cried Near. "I ran into him just now!"

L felt his hear contract with fear.

"Near," he said urgently. "Tell me everything."

llllllllllllllll

uh oh...L now knows that Kira is back in town!!...what will happen iwhen these two meet??

i'll do my best to update asap...until then...pls feed me with your reviews...

next chapter coming soon...


	12. Chapter 12

sorry for the late update again...i could not even begin to offer a good excuse...my humblest apologies...

since i received several death threats for not putting Light in the previous chapter...i made more Light for this one...hope you Raito lovers out there would be satisfied? :)...enjoy...

* * *

Light was glad to get home. The function had been a bore with all his relatives telling him about their expectations of him, how he was the pride of the Yagami family and so on.

Light hated it when they did that. Can't they see that he just wanted a normal life? Can't they see that he was a teenager? A brilliant one no doubt, but still a teenager.

Light's thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone rang. His heart sinking, he looked at the name on the screen. Sure enough, flashing there was: Misa.

Light groaned and was about to answer it when he stopped himself. There was something wrong. How on earth did Misa get his number? Sure, she had called before but he had never really thought about it. He realised that he hadn't given his number to her for obvious reasons.

Looking at the ringing phone, he decided that he didn't want to know.

He switched the phone off and lay back in his bed. He hadn't seen L all day except at school and he found himself missing the other boy. He smiled at the thought that just a few weeks ago, L didn't want anything to do with him. Now, they were nearly inseparable.

There was a knock on his door, interrupting his thoughts. Frowning, he opened it to see a very annoyed Sayu with the house phone.

"Misa," she said shortly, pushing the phone into Light's hands and running back downstairs.

Light gave a mental sigh and raised the phone to his head.

"Hi, Misa," he said in a falsely cheerful voice.

There was a silence on the other line, but Light can tell that Misa was there because of her very fast breathing. The silence stretched on, making Light very uncomfortable.

"Misa?" he prompted. "Are you there? Is something wrong?"

"Is something wrong?" the whiny voice that he had come to hate spoke at last. "You didn't answer my call, that's what's wrong!"

Light rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that, Misa. I was busy."

"Liar."

Light blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You are lying to me, Light Yagami," hissed Misa. "You switched off your phone when you saw it was me calling and then just lay down in your bed doing nothing! I don't call that busy!"

"How did you…" began Light, shocked.

"Look out your window," snapped the girl.

Light did and nearly got a heart attack. Misa was perched on a tree across the street facing his room. She was now giving Light such a dreadful glare that sent chills down his spine.

How the hell should he handle this? Light thought of an excuse, but decided against it. Misa would probably see right through it. He decided that he'd tell her the truth, well, part of the truth anyway.

"Um…why don't you come in?" he suggested meekly.

LLLLLLLL

Misa sat on Light's bed, eyeing him with steely eyes. Light fidgeted uncomfortably under that gaze.

"Misa," he said at last. "What do you think of our relationship?"

Misa's eyes widened in surprise. Clearly, she had not expected that question. Light could see her thinking it through. That nearly made Light laughed. Misa thinking things through?

"Well…Misa Misa thinks that its fine…" began the girl, frowning as she thought. "Our relationship is fine except that Light-chan can be somewhat distant."

She paused. "But Light-chan has been even more distant lately. Is Misa Misa not cute enough for Light-chan? Did Misa Misa do something wrong? Did…"

As Misa continued to list off the possibilities, Light felt as though that annoying way she kept referring herself in third person and that whiny voice grating on his nerves.

_Misa Misa needs to shut up._

"Misa…" he said.

"…perhaps Light-chan is bored with Misa Misa?"

"Misa."

"…maybe Light-chan suspects that Misa Misa is seeing someone else?"

"Misa!"

"…or maybe Light-chan is seeing someone else…"

"MISA!"

Misa fell silent and looked at Light coldly, sending chills down his spine. He realised that Misa had been rambling on purpose just to get him riled up. It scared him. It was unusual for Misa to be playing mind games.

Regardless, he had to tell her the truth.

"We're going nowhere, Misa," he said bluntly.

Misa merely stared back at him with those cold eyes.

Light was unnerved, but pressed on.

"We're just not…we're…" Light racked his brains for the correct word. "We just don't click with each other."

"What does Light-chan mean?" asked Misa in a falsely sweet voice that made Light shudder.

He took a deep breathe.

"Misa, this fake relationship that we have, its over," Light said calmly.

There was silence between the two of them. Light looking at Misa boldly and Misa looking at him right in the eye calmly.

Then, she snapped.

"You bastard!" she shrieked. "I gave you everything! My love, my attention…even my body! Now that you've nailed the famous Misa you've decided that you want to move on to some slut?"

"What do you mean you gave me everything?" snapped Light. "You practically stalked me! What's that shit about you giving me your body? You raped me, Misa! Granted, you were drunk. But you stole my virginity!"

"Oh yeah?" sneered Misa. "But you weren't complaining when you screwed me the next morning!"

"You were threatening to kill yourself!" shouted Light. "It was non-consensual, but I had to stop you from doing something stupid!"

They both glared at each other, both refusing to back down.

"Who's the bitch?" asked Misa coldly at last. "Who is it that you chose over me?"

Light wanted nothing more than to strangle Misa right there and then, but managed to restrain himself.

"I didn't choose a bitch," he said in an even colder voice. "I chose someone who understands me, cares for me and…loves me."

"Who is it?" snarled Misa.

Light snorted. "Do you really think I'd tell you? You'll probably try to bribe him to stay away from me or murder him outright…"

"Him?" said Misa, shocked. "_Him_? You dumped me for a guy? You chose another guy over me?"

Light gazed at her coolly. "I didn't know you could be so perceptive, Misa."

Misa leaped off Light's bed, bounded across the space between them and planted a big slap across his face. Light merely continued to look at her coolly, a part of his face red where Misa had struck.

"You're a disgusting fag," hissed Misa.

"You're an insane stalker," retorted Light, gesturing to the door. "Please leave and never darken the doorstep of my home ever again."

Misa looked as though she wanted to murder Light right there and then, which wasn't far from the truth. But instead, she stomped out of Light's room and left.

Light felt a sense of achievement, but it was dampened by a feeling that something else was to come. Knowing Misa, Light doubted that she would give up just like that.

LLLLLLL

"Good to see you again, Watari," said Anezaki, turning in his office chair to greet the other old man. "Do have a seat."

"Thank you," answered Watari, sitting down facing Anezaki.

He studied Anezaki curiously. The other man had aged well, though his head was now devoid of auburn locks that Watari remembered, his skin still had a healthy glow about it in contrast to Watari's own. Though Anezaki was nearly in his mid seventies, he still retained his good looks. A shadow of it, but enough for Watari to remember how he used to be like.

Watari tried to avoid walking down that particular memory lane again. It would do him no good.

"Thank you for looking after my grandsons while I was gone," he said.

Anezaki looked back at him with hard eyes while he poured out some tea.

"You mean your grandson and his two half-brothers," he corrected, placing a cup before Watari.

Watari frowned. "To me, Near and Mello will always be my grandsons though they may not be related to me by blood."

Anezaki said nothing, sipping his tea.

"Returning this early," he said ponderingly. "I assume that means you've apprehended him?"

Watari shook his head. "I found him alright…but too late. He died two weeks ago."

Anezaki raised his eyebrows at this bit of information.

"STD?" he asked.

Watari nodded.

"So L will never meet his father," said Anezaki. "As will Near and Mello."

Watari bristled slightly at this. "Do not call that man their father. He does not deserve it! He sleeps with their mothers to con them out of their money and runs off!"

"But nonetheless," said Anezaki, unfazed by Watari's outburst. "His blood runs through their veins. Are you upset that you couldn't bring him to prison?"

Watari looked away. He could not stand to look at Mamoru in the eyes. The eyes that had once captivated him, flooding with emotions but were now cold and analytical.

It was entirely his fault.

"Why did you call me here?" asked Watari in a weary voice.

"There's some important information that my…source has," answered Anezaki. "But he would only tell me if you were here as well."

He turned to a dark corner of his dusty office.

"Ryuk-san," he called. "You can come out now."

Watari eyed his grandson's English teacher with surprise. The tall, gangly, pale and ebony-haired man grinned at him.

"Let me guess," said Watari dryly. "Being a detective is your part-time job?"

"Nope," answered Ryuk, grinning broadly. "Being a teacher is."

"What's the information you have for us, Ryuk-san?" asked Anezaki impatiently.

Ryuk grinned and took out an apple.

"Are you familiar with the name: Kira?" he asked, biting into it.

LLLLLLL

"So you broke up with Misa?" asked L, happiness creeping into his voice despite the anxiety he was feeling. Light really did care for him!

"Yup," answered Light's voice across the phone. "So now we can officially be together."

L felt happy but worried at the same time.

"Raito…" he began hesitantly. "What about your reputation at school? Your friends? Your social standing?"

"L," said Light, sounding amused. "I couldn't care less about what other people think of me. For your information, the only real friend I have at school would probably be Takada."

"What about me?" asked L, slightly hurt.

"Ah," said Light. "You're different. I want you to be more than just my friend. I want you…as my boyfriend."

L felt himself blush. Light wanted him to be his boyfriend! But with Kira around, L felt afraid to give Kira an opportunity to hurt him.

"L?" asked Light, sounding concerned by L's silence. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"Raito…" said L. "I want to be your boyfriend more than anything else…but…I'm afraid."

"Why?" asked Light, disappointed.

"Because of what happened to me before," answered L, taking a deep breath. "Because Kira is back."

"What?" said Light, shocked. "I thought he was dead?"

"So did I," said L sadly. "But apparently, Near and Sayu met him this afternoon after school. Near's description matched with Kira perfectly. I've no doubt that he's back."

"You think he's after you?" asked Light, anger seeping into his voice.

"I'm fairly certain," answered L. "He probably wants to finish what he started. But Raito…that's why I can't be with you for now. It would give Kira an advantage over both of us if he knew…"

"I'll protect you, L," said Light. "You know I will!"

"I've no doubt about that," said L, flattered and happy that Light cared so much about him. "But I don't want to take any risks. I hope you understand. It would tear me up if Kira got to you."

"I understand," said Light, sighing. "So what do we do about Kira?"

L had been thinking about that for sometime as well.

"I don't know, Raito," he said honestly. "I really have no idea."

"Well, we'll think of something," said Light soothingly. "I know we will. Hey, I have to go, Sayu's calling me."

"Goodbye then, Raito," said L.

"See you soon, L," said Light, hanging up.

L immediately felt a sense of loneliness once Light hanged up. He decided to go down to the living room to be with his brothers.

Going downstairs, he was greeted with an amusing scene. Mello and Matt were making out on the couch in front of the TV while Near tried to block out the view with his teddy bear.

"Mello, Matt," said L severely as he entered the room. "You're going to scar Near for life if you do that."

"Come on, bro," said Mello, detaching himself from Matt. "Its not like Near is a kid or anything. He's old enough, plus he has a girlfriend."

"No I don't!" cried Near, his cheeks flaming.

"Yeah right," said Mello, grinning as he lifted a breathless Matt into his arms. "Since I wouldn't want to scare little baby here, I'm going to continue in my room."

With that, he carried Matt off to his room.

"You don't think I'm a baby, do you?" asked Near anxiously.

"Of course not," answered L smiling. "But you will always be my baby brother."

Near pouted, making L laugh.

"Oni-chan?" asked Near quietly once L subsided. "What about Kira?"

L immediately became solemn. He sat down on the couch in his crouched way. He truly didn't know what to do with the situation. But whatever it was, he would handle it. Somehow, he would overcome the ghost of his past.

llllllllllllllllllllllll

so there...what is Kira and Misa going to do?...will i update faster?...that depends on my workload...but i'll do it as fast as i can...please bear with me...

next chapter coming soon...


	13. Chapter 13

i had to think quite a bit for this chapter...so...sorry for the late update...enjoy...

* * *

There was light glowing merrily from behind the windows of a posh apartment. Occasionally the glow would be disturbed by a dark figure darting about. The tenants living below and beside it would huddle closer to their loved ones and look about anxiously. While they had grown used to their neighbour's loudness, this was something they had never heard before. Their neighbour sounded enraged.

Misa overturned her couch and tables. She threw her little TV against the wall. Once she was done demolishing her living room, she proceeded to wreck her kitchen. Once that was in ruins, she moved to her bedroom.

However, she halted at the figure sitting on her previously overturned couch. It was that Light look-alike, Kira.

The man in question smirked at her.

"Redecorating?" he asked with feigned curiosity.

Misa merely snarled at him.

"How did you get in here?" she demanded.

"You left the door open," answered Kira, his smirk widening.

Misa blinked. She had been so angry with Light that she had forgotten to do that simple thing?

"Whatever," she hissed. "My Light is a fag! Have you found out who's the bastard he's seeing?"

Kira merely lit a cigarette and took a deep puff, ignoring her.

After a moment of silence, Misa snapped.

"Listen to me, you son of a bitch!" she screeched, moving towards Kira quickly. "I want to know who has Light been seeing and I want to know…"

Her sentence was cut off as one of Kira's hands shot forward and gripped her throat, squeezing strongly. Misa choked and attempted to pry the hand away but failed. She tried to scream for Matsuda but it only came as a gurgle. What truly scared her though, was that Kira's face extremely calm as he squeezed the life out of her. So calm, that he did not even pause in his smoking.

"Listen to me, bitch," he said calmly. "I'm not your lapdog like that pathetic excuse for a manager you call Matsuda. Now I'm going to let you go, and you're going to sit down and listen to me like a good bitch. You got that?"

With her supply of oxygen running out, Misa nodded. Kira released her and she collapsed to the floor, gasping.

"Now," Kira continued as though nothing had happened. "You're right about the fact that your Light is not straight. Now the person he's been seeing is someone very special. Do you know someone by the name of L Lawliet?"

"No," answered Misa, her voice sore from her earlier predicament.

"That's a shame," said Kira with genuine regret. "He's special. He's a genius on the same level as your Light and myself. There's almost nothing that he doesn't know. However, he has one flaw."

"Flaw?" echoed Misa.

Kira smiled. It made him look even more sinister and for the first time since Misa met him, she felt the terrible aura about him. It terrified her but her burning desire for Light and revenge kept her terror in check.

"Oh yes," said Kira. "L has always craved to be loved. I guess that comes from being neglected for most of his life. Not that his brothers neglected him, but it wasn't what he truly craved."

"What does this have to do with anything?" demanded Misa.

Kira shot her a glare that silenced her.

"Are you really that stupid?" he snapped. "The only reason I'd be rambling about L is because he's the person that Light is seeing."

Misa gaped at Kira. Then, she began to tremble with rage.

"I'll kill that bastard!" she snarled. "I'll send my people after him! I'll…"

"You'll do no such thing," said Kira coldly. "Touch L, I'll touch Light."

Misa stared at Kira, uncertain if she heard correctly.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

Kira let out a sigh of exasperation. The girl was really stupid.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" he said irritably. "L is mine. I want him. If you were to…dispose of him, your Light will have to take his place."

"You mean you're a fag?" asked Misa, disgusted.

Kira smirked. "After seeing girls like you, it's not so bad being a fag."

"But I want Light!" shouted Misa. "And that won't happen while this L is pounding Light into his bed!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," said Kira, laughing coldly. "As far as Light's backdoor is concerned, he's still a virgin. But L on the other hand, is a virgin. That's what I want."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Misa.

Kira grinned.

"I have a plan that would bring us both what we want. If you follow my instructions to the letter, this time tomorrow, Light is yours. To have and to hold and all that crap."

Misa was for once truly attentive.

"I'm listening," she said.

LLLLLLL

Watari returned home with a heavy heart. He had spent most of his years looking for the man who had ruined his daughter and grandson's lives only to find out that the man was dead. Now he had found out that a dangerous teen with an intellect probably superior to his was out to get that same grandson.

He opened the door and walked into the living room. Mello was lying down on the couch, his head on Matt's lap, munching on a chocolate bar contentedly while Matt played with his golden hair. Near and L were on the floor, playing a game of chess. They almost looked like a normal, happy family.

Almost.

He could see that L and Near were troubled. While their faces were expressionless, Watari could see their unease radiating from their eyes. It was obvious to him as he knew them very well. Only one thing could be troubling them.

Kira.

"Eru, may I have a word with you?" Watari requested.

L nodded and followed Watari to his room. Since Watari returned, L shared Near's bedroom while Watari slept in L's.

Watari set at the desk in L's room while L crouched on the floor. Watari sighed and began.

"I suppose you already know about Kira?" he asked.

L nodded. "Near ran into him earlier."

"Then you know he might come after you," said Watari. "Eru, do you know what he has been up to?"

L shook his head and Watari sighed again. He'd have to fill his grandson in on how dangerous Kira has become.

"You know that Kira was in that car accident several years ago, we thought he was dead," said Watari. "In truth, he survived the crash with minimal injuries. He went to live with his uncle, who is a drug lord in Tokyo. Apparently, Kira had an aptitude for the business. He quickly became his uncle's right hand man."

"Who's his uncle?" asked L calmly.

"He's real name is unknown, but he is simply known as Sidoh," answered Watari.

"Isn't he the most ruthless drug lord in Japan?" asked L, surprised. But there was something wrong here. L tried to remember it and finally did.

"Wait, didn't Sidoh die in a shoot out at the start of this year?" he asked.

Watari nodded. "What most people don't know was that it was Kira who killed him."

L stared at Watari. "Kira killed his own uncle?"

Watari nodded gravely. "He turned his gun on his uncle during the confusion."

L was shocked to the core. He knew that Kira was a bad person, but he'd never actually thought that Kira would murder someone, a family member no less.

"After his uncle's death," continued Watari. "Kira took over his uncle's business and effectively became the most powerful drug lord in Tokyo and possibly all of Japan. He ruthlessly eliminated his rivals and intimidated the police force. Now he's after you."

"What should we do, Watari?" asked L, the fear evident in his eyes.

Watari polished his glasses and gave L a sad smile.

"The way I see it, we have to options," he answered. "We can get protection from the police and some of my connections, but with Kira's extensive network…it's still too dangerous."

"The second option?" prompted L, though he already knew what it was, but it still sent a pang of sorrow to hear it.

"We have to leave Japan," answered Watari.

LLLLLLL

"Dad, does the name Kira ring any bells?" asked Light.

The Yagami family were having dinner together and Soichiro had been telling them about the numerous deaths of infamous drug lords and that the case was very difficult to crack though he was sure he knew who was behind the killings but he wouldn't say the name. That was until Light asked his questions.

"How did you know that name?" asked Soichiro, shocked.

"So you do know that name?" pressed Light.

"Yes," answered Soichiro. "He's now the biggest drug lord in all of Japan. I've been trying to find evidence on his activities for a few months now and I can't find anything. Not just that, my superiors is now talking about calling of the investigation. I smell bribery and blackmail."

Light was really worried for L now. At first he thought that Kira was a spoiled genius who thought he could get away with everything. A spoiled genius who wanted _his_ L. But now, knowing that this genius is the head of a criminal organisation really had him worried.

He stood up abruptly, surprising his family.

"I'm going out for a walk," he said, and before Soichiro and Sachiko could say anything, he had already left.

Sayu quickly stood up. "I'll go with him."

She put on her coat and raced out of the house to catch up with her brother.

"Why are you following me?" Light asked gruffly.

"You're going to see L, right?" she asked.

Light's silence merely confirmed her question.

"I just want to go and see Near," said Sayu, taking her brother's hand.

The corners of Light's mouth twitched a little.

LLLLLL

L looked into his chocolate shake sadly. Three years ago, he would have been happy to leave Japan. But now that he had Light, he found that he didn't want to leave at all. The thought of being so far away from Light made him feel empty. But if he stayed, Kira might be able to get to him.

While L is no coward, the mere thought of seeing Kira face-to-face again made him tremble. The thought of Kira touching him again made him break out with cold sweat. Yes, L was afraid of Kira.

L took a sip from his shake, not really tasting it. He wanted to get away from Kira, yet he didn't want to leave Light. The only solution would be taking Light with him, but L wouldn't do something so selfish. He sighed, what to do, what to do?

Suddenly, his doorbell rang.

Getting off the chair, L went to answer it. But just before he opened it, he hesitated.

What if it was Kira on the other side of the door?

"Who's there?" he called.

"L?" answered a voice he knew well. "It's me, open up!"

Smiling, L opened the door.

Standing there in his doorway was Light and Sayu. Light had a look of relief on his face while Sayu was just grinning away.

"Hi, L-chan!" cried Sayu. "Is Near in?"

"He's in the living room," answered L, smiling at her. "Do come in."

Sayu quickly went inside to find Near; but Light stayed at the door.

L looked at him questioningly.

"Why don't we take a stroll in your garden?" suggested Light.

L nodded. "All right."

LLLLLLL

The two teens sat on the grass of L's backyard, gazing up at the starry sky. The silence between them was comforting, yet Light's heart still stung.

"When do you leave?" he asked, forcing steadiness into his voice.

L didn't look at him but answered in a monotonous voice: "Next week."

Light felt as though his heart was bleeding from those words. It was all Kira's fault. If he hadn't come back, Light and L would've been doing so many together. It wasn't fair for both of them since they so recently discovered their feelings for each other.

"Raito…" said L softly, reaching out with a pale, thin hand to caress Light's hair.

Light turned away from the hand, breathing heavily.

L didn't stop. He lowered his hand and placed it comfortingly on Light's shoulder and only smiled sadly when the other boy shuddered at his touch.

"I'll return someday," said L, trying to force himself to believe those words.

Light turned to L, his eyes blazing.

"Why?" he cried. "Why does something always have to get in our way? First, it was those idiots at school! Then, it was Misa! Now it's Kira! Why is it that the world seems to be getting in our way?"

Light looked at the ground, tears falling from his eyes.

L gazed at the brown haired boy beside him sadly. He felt that way too. But one of them had to be strong. Even if he wanted to cry his heart out, he couldn't.

"Maybe we're just not meant to be…" he began, when Light whirled around and pinned him down on the ground.

"Don't you dare say that," said Light harshly. "Don't you ever say that! You're the only one I want. We are meant for each other, L. Even if I have to wait a lifetime for you, I will."

L looked up at Light's strong, beautiful face and felt his heart break at the anguish he saw within those beautiful brown eyes. His own were pooling with tears.

"Raito…" he said again, but Light placed a finger over his lips.

"No more words, L," he said softly, looking at L tenderly. "I can only show you how much you mean to me."

Light leaned down and captured L's lips in a gentle kiss.

LLLLLLL

Watari looked down from the window at the two boys. He felt his own heart constrict at the sight. The two of them showed him what he could have had with Mamoru. What he had ruined between the two of them.

What he was about to take away from his beloved grandson.

Watari fell to his knees, tears pouring down his kindly, wrinkled face. He had made so many mistakes in his life, yet he had never learned from that as he was about to make another.

"Forgive me, Eru," he whispered. "Forgive me, Mamoru."

llllllllllllllllllllllll

a little self-reflection for Watari...wondering how deep his relationship with Anezaki is yet??...anyway...will Kira strike??...or will L get away safely but with a broken heart??

next chapter coming soon...


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for the very late update...i actually finished this chap a week ago but then the file where i saved my works got busted so i had to re-write it from scratch...that and i've been up to my ear in college works...nasty things...anyway...enjoy...

* * *

L and Light tried to spend as much time together as possible. They both stopped going to school, since both of them were way ahead in their studies, this didn't matter.

However, the danger that Kira posed seemed to be lurking behind every corner and that spoiled it all for them.

L was nervous, jumpy and miserable. He kept his guard up and rarely left his home. Even when he did, he was so cautious that Light ceased to take him out.

As for Light, his was feeling pretty low himself with the idea of L moving away. A thundercloud seemed to hover over his head as he went around until even L was wary of him.

L found himself hating Kira. He hated Kira for what he did to him. What he nearly did to him. What he was still doing to him. L hated Kira for ruining any chance of happiness he could have had with Light.

Light also found himself hating Kira. He hated Kira for casting a dark shadow over his and L's relationship. He hated Kira for threatening to hurt L. He hated Kira for nearly hurting L.

Both of them could find it in themselves to enjoy the little time they had left together.

Before long, the last day came. Light was determined not to let Kira ruin this one last day they had together.

LLLLLLLL

L woke up to find Near sprawled on top of him. He slowly rolled his younger brother off him and got up, taking of his shirt as he did.

He stood up and stretched in the golden sunlight pouring in through the window.

"Gorgeous," said a voice behind him.

Jumping, L turned around to see Light sitting by the bedroom door.

"Raito, how did you get in?" asked L, blushing as Light's eyes roved around his pale torso.

"Watari let me in," answered Light, still eyeing L's body.

L nodded, grabbing his shirt and putting it on.

Light looked disappointed but said nothing.

"Why don't you come over for lunch today?" he suggested. "My parents would love to have you over and Sayu misses Near."

L thought about it. He didn't want to refuse Light but he felt too afraid to leave his home. But it would not be fair to Near if he couldn't see Sayu before they left.

L sighed.

"All right," he said.

LLLLLLLL

Lunch at Light's house had been a somewhat sombre affair. Both L and Light had been so quiet that any attempts to make conversation fell flat.

After lunch, L and Light went out for a walk while Near and Sayu just played around in the gardens.

L walked slowly, constantly looking around. Light just walked behind him silently.

The silence stretched on until Light finally spoke up.

"Why don't we go to Anezaki-san's museum?"

L looked back at Light, surprised.

"Why?" he asked.

"L, you've been visiting his place for a very long time," answered Light. "Don't you think you should say goodbye?"

L thought about it and nodded.

"All right."

LLLLLLLLLL

"So you'll be going tomorrow?" asked Sayu dully, plucking a flower petal.

Near was sitting on the grass, fiddling around with a leaf. He nodded without looking at Sayu.

"We'll be leaving at dawn," he said monotonously.

Sayu said nothing but continued to pluck the flower petal until none were left. Then, she turned to Near and smiled cheerfully.

"I'll be here when you come back, Near-chan," she said.

Near looked up at her and smiled the smile that had enthralled Sayu so much.

"Promise?" he asked.

"I promise," said Sayu, bending down and planting a kiss on Near's cheek, making the white haired boy blush.

Sayu giggled shyly when he reached up to touch the spot she kissed.

"How sweet," said a sarcastic voice over the wall.

They both looked up and saw Misa sitting on the wall, leering down at them.

Near quickly stood up and placed himself protectively in front of Sayu.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

Misa smirked. "I want Light-chan, but your brother is having him right now. I guess I'll have to settle with you two cute lovebirds."

"My grandfather and brother are inside the house," said Near, trying to figure a way out of this. He wasn't scared of Misa, but he felt a strong intuition that Kira had recruited her. "They'll notice if something happens to us."

Misa snorted. "Please, your grandpa just went out. Your fag brother is too busy screwing his red-head. There's no one to help you."

Near swore under his breath. He had no choice then. He took a deep breath and was about to scream for Mello when a huge shadow loomed up behind both him and Sayu. Suddenly, Near felt pain on the back of his head and before he passed out, he heard Sayu screaming.

"Sayu…" he said weakly before passing out.

LLLLLLL

Anezaki smiled when he saw L and Light walked in through the doors of his museum. He knew it would probably be for the last time, but he had to act as though he didn't know. L had never known about him acting as an invisible bodyguard for him, and Anezaki wanted it to stay that way.

"Welcome again, Lawliet-san," he greeted. "I see you've brought Yagami-san with you as well."

"Hello, Anezaki-san," said L quietly. Then, not knowing what else to say, he quickly got to the point. "This will be my last visit."

Anezaki feigned a look of surprise on his face. "Really? How come?"

"My grandfather wants to move overseas," said L sadly. "He wants us to come with him."

"I see," said Anezaki. "It's going to be lonely without you around here."

"Ah," was all L said. He was too embarrassed to say anything else.

"Go on," said Anezaki, gesturing towards the entrance to the exhibitions.

LLLLLL

L and Light wandered aimlessly around the museum, not knowing where to go. Eventually they both settled down at the lounge or rather, what used to be a lounge. It was now nothing more than a dusty, empty room with two moth-eaten sofas.

They both sat facing each other, neither saying a word. Both of them had a heavy feeling in their chests that was further amplified by the dim lighting of the lounge.

"So…" said Light at last. "You'll be leaving tomorrow."

L said nothing, knowing that it was pointless to answer. Light sighed and took something out of his pocket.

He moved to sit beside L and handed him a small box. L opened it and found a locket.

It was a simple one, silver and oval in shape with a chain. L opened and found a picture.

"Raito…" he breathed. The picture was of him and Light. L was resting his head on Light's shoulder and smiling softly while Light had an arm around him and big grin on his face.

L looked up at Light with wide eyes.

"I just wanted you to have something so that you'll never forget me," said Light, not looking at L.

"Thank you, Raito," said L, taking Light's hand. "I promise you, I'll never forget you and I will come back."

Light turned to look at L and for the first time that day, he smiled. He leaned forward and captured L's lips with his own.

L closed his eyes and allowed Light's tongue to explore his own. Light deepened the kiss further, pulling L closer, crushing their bodies together.

Light pushed L down on the sofa and continued kissing him fervently, realising that this may be the last time he could ever kiss him.

One of his hands were entangled in L's ebony hair while the other held L's chin as their continued to duel.

L wrapped his own arms around Light, pulling him closer.

"To think that you used to that to me, Eru-chan," said a cold voice that brought the two of them back to earth.

L rose from the sofa to look at the man that had haunted his dreams, the man who had scarred him emotionally. The first man he had ever loved.

Kira.

Kira looked as though he had not changed at all; he was the exact copy of Light. One might have thought that the two were twins but for Kira's jet-black hair, the scar on his face and those evil, black eyes that constantly glinted with malice.

Light quickly stood in front of L as though to shield him.

This made Kira cackle. The sound sent chills up L's spine.

"How sweet," said Kira. "Looks you found yourself a better version of me, Eru."

L trembled as his former lover's eyes fixed themselves on him.

"Raito is not version of you, Kira," said L, trying to keep his voice steady. "He is who he is, you are who you are."

Kira clapped his hands.

"Bravo, Eru," he said, still clapping his hands. "Bravo. You've finally stopped listening to me and started thinking for yourself. However, you're deluding yourself if you think that you like this boy for who he is."

L frowned. "I don't understand."

Kira chuckled. "The thing that drew you to Light was because of his similarities with me. Granted, he's a lot nicer than I am, but that's what drew you to him in the first place."

L shook his head. "You're the one who's deluding yourself. I was drawn to Raito because he never stopped trying to befriend me even when I pushed him away."

Kira scowled. He never liked being contradicted.

"Looks like I have my work cut out for me," he growled. "The two of you are coming with me."

"What makes you think we'll listen to you?" said Light challengingly.

Kira grinned.

"Why, a number of reasons. Firstly, I have three men outside. If I give the word, they'll walk in and shoot the old curator and Watari who are both in the museum office. Secondly, I have men watching both your homes. Same story of course should I give the word. Third, Near and Sayu are both with Misa right now. You don't want the kids to be forced by that nutcase to do something they're…not ready to do yet, do you?"

L and Light were both trembling with fear and Light's case, anger.

"You sick bastard!" shouted Light, charging at Kira.

"Raito, no!" cried L.

Kira neatly sidestepped Light and delivered a blow to the back of his head, sending Light to the floor.

Kira sat on Light's back and took out a gun.

Light's eyes widened with fear.

"Kira, no!" he pleaded.

Kira looked at L. "I have an agreement with Misa to deliver Light to her. But she didn't specify dead or alive. If you come with me, I'll deliver him alive, if you refuse…I'll still drag you along but I'll deliver Light dead. I'm not too fussed about keeping my bargain with that crazy girl. So make your choice, Eru."

L trembled. This was what Kira loved to do, playing games. He did it while they were together. At the time, L had found them unpleasant but had tolerated them because of his love for Kira. But now, he hated with all his heart.

He knew that Kira already knew his choice.

"I'll come, just don't hurt Raito," he said, defeated.

Kira grinned. "Good boy. Now, give me a kiss."

L stared at Kira with a mixture of fear and disgust.

"Kiss me or Watari and Anezaki dies."

Hating himself, L walked forward and placed his lips on Kira's.

Kira pulled L closer by the waist and pushed his tongue into L's mouth, making him gag. He released L and smirked at Light who glared back at him from the floor.

"I missed that," said Kira, laughing cruelly.

L helped Light up. "I'm sorry, Raito."

Light shook his head.

"It's not for your fault, L," he said, looking at Kira hatefully.

"Raito…" said L, putting a restraining hand on Light shoulder. "Don't, if not he'll carry out his threats."

"Raito, Raito and Raito," spat Kira. "I'm getting sick of the way you say his name. I'll have you _scream _my name later! Let's go."

He pointed his gun at both of them.

L and Light obeyed reluctantly. What other choice did they have?

lllllllllllllllllll

things are heating up now...how will L and Light get out of this?? find out next chap...

next chapter coming soon...


	15. Chapter 15

here's the next chap...its not really good...but i'll fix that in the next chapter...

* * *

L could feel the car traveling at high speed. Kira was eager, very eager. L knew exactly what Kira wanted…

It sent chills down his spine.

He and Light had been blindfolded and their hands tied up before being pushed into a car. The journey had been spent in silence. The atmosphere in the car had been so thick that L felt as though he was being suffocated. The blindfold only made things worse.

Light had tried to comfort him but was backhanded by one of Kira's henchmen for his efforts. That particular henchman ended up dead with a bullet, courtesy of Kira. This was enough to deter Light from trying anymore. He understood then just how dangerous Kira really was.

After what felt like a lifetime, the car finally stopped. L and Light were dragged out and forcibly marched. L could feel them going up a flight of stairs, then they went up and elevator. After awhile, he felt himself being pushed down onto a couch. A grunt and a thump nearby told him that Light had endured a similar fate.

The blindfold was ripped off and L blinked as his adjusted to the dim lighting of the room. He quickly deduced that they were in an apartment, an expensive one and probably near the top floor.

Looking around, he found that Light was still blindfolded.

Kira's two men just stood there, saying nothing. There was no sign of Kira anywhere.

Eventually, one of them grew bored. "Where's the boss?"

"Went to see that model girl, I think," grunted the other.

"The cute one?" asked the first. The other just nodded.

"Damn," muttered the first. "Why does the boss get all the girls?"

At this, the other burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked the first, confused by his colleague's reaction.

"You mean you didn't know?" said the other. "Boss likes pretty boys. He's got his eye on the black haired kid."

The first gave a snort of disgust.

"Anyway, boss told us to treat them well," said the other. "Give them what they need, short of letting them go."

"I ain't helping any fags," grunted the first.

The other just frowned and turned to L and Light.

"You boys all right?" he asked. "Sorry we had to rough you up a bit, but at least we didn't drag you up the stairs."

L ignored the comment. "Why didn't you remove Raito's blindfold?" he asked instead.

The second henchman frowned. L saw that this guy had a serious but honest face. He was really big and wore a huge overcoat. His hair was short and neat.

"Boss's orders," was all he said in his deep voice.

The first one stepped up. This guy had an afro; his had a really sour expression on his face. He was shorter than the other one.

"That's right, the boss will be coming up to deal with you fags later," he snarled. "Just sit there and don't try anything!"

L recoiled from the man's harsh tone.

"Aizawa, that was unnecessary," said the other, frowning heavily.

"Bah, you've always been a softie, Mogi," snapped the one called Aizawa. "I don't know how on earth you managed to survive in this business!"

The one called Mogi didn't bother to reply. Instead, he turned to L. "You need anything?"

"Can you take these off?" asked L, jerking his head towards the ropes that ties his arms to his back.

Mogi shook his head.

"Boss's orders," he said again.

L sighed and turned to Light. The other teen had been very quiet and it worried L to no end. Then, he noticed something.

Light was frowning.

L knew that whenever Light was focused on a task or thinking hard, he would automatically frown. Light was thinking of a way to get them out of this situation.

"Oi, Mogi," said Aizawa. "I'm going to get a beer, I'll be right back."

Mogi nodded.

After Aizawa left, Mogi sat himself on a chair and kept his eye on the two boys. Things stayed that way for several minutes when Mogi's cell phone rang.

Mogi answered it.

"Hello?" he said. "Oh, hi there baby. No, daddy's working now."

Light's ears immediately pricked up. This was something he could use to his advantage.

Mogi finished his conversation and hung up. He immediately resumed watching L and Light.

After a period of silence, Light spoke up.

"Tell me, Mogi-san," he said. "How'd a family man like you end up working for a drug lord?"

Mogi looked startled, but said nothing. He just continued with his statue-like watching.

"Did Kira blackmail you into doing it?" pressed Light. "Or were you in the wrong place at the wrong time? He threatened your family perhaps? Maybe…"

"You got a big mouth, kid," said Mogi, not rattled in the least. "You don't even know Kira."

"He's a drug lord," retorted Light. "I know that much."

"That much," repeated Mogi. "I suppose that you don't know that Kira has been using the syndicate as a cover to destroy it? That that was why he eliminated all those other drug lords while getting rid of criminals?"

Light looked startled behind his blindfold while L's own eyes widened with surprise.

"I suppose that you don't know that Kira does deals with other drug lords, peddlers and so on just to get their money before disposing them?" continued Mogi. "I suppose you don't know that he used that money for charity work? He also used that money to save my…"

"That will do, Mogi-san."

Mogi started and turned to the door to see Kira.

Kira's expression was unusually solemn.

"Thank you for watching them," he said. "You may leave now. Please do not go home yet, I may need you later."

Mogi bowed and left the room.

After he left, Kira turned to L.

"He talks a bit too much," he said. "Excuse him."

Kira took a seat opposite L and lit a cigarette. He just sat there, smoking away while L just watched him.

"Is it true?" said L at last. "That you have actually been wiping out the drug syndicates?"

Kira nodded.

"The best way to bring down an organisation is from within," he said.

"But by killing people?" pressed L. "Isn't that too extreme?"

Kira chuckled. "Traditional justice doesn't work in the real world, Eru."

L sighed.

"But enough about me, Eru," said Kira suddenly. "Now is time for me to lavish my attention on you."

"Don't you dare touch him!" growled Light.

Kira smirked and took a rope out of his coat. He quickly tied Light's legs up and pushed him onto the floor before ripping off the blindfold.

"You can watch," he said tauntingly before moving over to L.

"Kira…please don't do this…" whimpered L as Kira started to kiss his neck.

Kira didn't answer, instead slipping his hand under L's shirt to caress him.

Light by now was beside himself with rage. He tried to break free from his bonds but failed.

"Kira…why?" said L softly, cringing as Kira touched his nipples. "You're doing some good things out there…but why must you torment me?"

Kira paused, puzzlement on his face.

"Torment you?" he repeated. "How have I tormented you?"

"You kidnapped me, my lover, my brother and his girlfriend," said L incredulously. "You played around with my feelings three years ago with the intention to hurt me. You can still ask how you've tormented me?"

"Eru…" said Kira softly, but then the door burst open.

Misa came in noisily. Behind her was Matsuda, dragging Near and Sayu.

"I've got the brats," whined Misa. "Now where's…Light-chan!"

Misa squealed and ran over to where Light was. She hugged him as though he was a teddy bear.

"Get off me you bitch," growled Light.

Misa let go of him, smiling. Then, she slapped him right across the face.

"You're my bitch now, Light," she taunted. "You'll do as I say or we'll see if your sister can fly."

Light's eyes widened with fear.

Misa straddled Light, bent down and proceeded to ravish him. Light tried to struggle, but the bonds and fear for Sayu kept him in check.

Suddenly, a foot swung out and struck Misa right in the chest, sending her flying backwards.

Kira blinked and looked back at the sofa to see that L was no longer there. L now stood over Light, glaring at Misa.

"Don't you dare touch Raito," he hissed.

Misa stood up, snarling. "So you're the fag. Maybe you'll think twice about kicking me once I deal with your cute little brother."

"I won't allow you to touch Near," snapped L.

Misa smirked. Suddenly, L fell forward with a cry of pain. Matsuda had just struck him across the back of his head.

There was a bang, and Matsuda fell, a bullet-hole in his chest.

"I told you not to touch L," said Kira nonchalantly, wiping his gun down.

Near and Sayu just stood there in shock, covered in Matsuda's blood.

Misa scowled. "You've got him and I've got Light. We're done here, aren't we?"

Kira shrugged. "I'll keep the kids though; I don't trust them with a nutcase like you."

Suddenly, Aizawa and Mogi burst into the room.

"Boss!" cried Aizawa. "The cops are here! They've got us surrounded!"

Kira frowned. "So soon?"

"Apparently, Blondie didn't cover her tracks well enough," said Mogi. "She was followed by L's other brother. They alerted the old man and the cops."

Kira glared at Misa.

"Looks like you were the flaw in my plan after all," he growled. "I should've just strangled you when I had the chance."

He turned away from her to think.

What should he do? He had hoped to get away with L long before the police tracked them down but that had just been shot to hell. He did not want to get involved in a hostage situation but it looks like he had no choice now.

He sighed and turned to L, Near and Sayu.

"Looks like I have to use the three of you."

lllllllllllllllll

kinda lame ending eh??...like i said...i'll fix it next chap...but the next chap could be a bit late since i got exams next week...so bear with me for a bit okay??

next chapter coming soon...


	16. Chapter 16

i know...i know...it took me forever didn't it??...got stuck in a rut...so sorry...but its here isn't it...:D...enjoy...

* * *

"No!" cried Light.

He managed to throw Misa off him and somehow scrambled up to his feet with his hands tied up.

"Please, leave them alone," pleaded Light. "Use me instead."

Kira looked at Light with raised eyebrows. "As you pretty as you are, I'm not interested in you. You're Misa's problem now, not mine."

"My father is the head of the police force," said Light desperately. "Use me as your bargaining chip, leave them alone."

Kira gazed at Light curiously.

"You'd trade your freedom for them…for _him_?" he asked.

Light looked at L who was shaking his head wildly, trying to dissuade Light with those dark eyes that Light loved so much.

Light looked back at Kira.

"I would," he said steadily.

Suddenly, he found himself thrown forward onto the floor and felt his someone step on his head.

"Charming," he heard Misa's voice say. "Just take your freaky fag and go. I have to _straighten_ Light out."

Kira nodded.

"Take them," he said to Mogi and Aizawa.

Aizawa grabbed Near and Sayu while Mogi pulled L to his feet. They began to move towards the door.

Light began to struggle against Misa.

"Kira!" he shouted. "Don't do this! Take me, please just take me!"

"Light-chan," whined Misa in a sing song voice. "Don't yell so much."

She slapped Light across the face viciously. She then bent down to lick the spot that she just struck.

L cried out when Light was struck and he struggled against Mogi's hold to get to Light.

"Raito!" he cried, trying to break free from the man's strong grip. Mogi tightened his grip on L's arm, making the boy whimper in pain.

"L…" said Light softly, trying to get to his lover, only to have Misa kick him in the side. He gasped in pain.

Tears began to form in L's eyes at the sight of Light in pain. Desperate, he turned to Kira.

"Kira," he pleaded. "Please get Raito away from her! I'll go with you; I'll do anything…just, just save Raito from her."

Kira looked back at L and saw desperation and fear reflected in those dark orbs. However, he also saw love within them.

L's love for Light.

Suddenly, Kira felt a sting in his heart, making him gasp. He clutched at his heart and fell to his knees. His face was suddenly very wet and his eyes were stinging.

"Why?" he said, crying. "Why do you love him so much? Why couldn't you love me as much?"

L regarded Kira with surprise. No one would have ever expected to see Kira break down. He didn't answer. Instead, using Mogi's surprise to his advantage, he broke free and ran to Light, shoving Misa off him as he did.

He untied Light and helped him to his feet. Mogi stepped forward menacingly to grab hold of them, but to his surprise, Kira stopped him.

"Why?" asked Kira quietly.

"I loved you before, Kira," said L wearily. "I loved you just as much as I love Raito. But then, you tried to hurt me, or have you forgotten about that?"

Kira shook his head.

"I haven't forgotten, Eru," he said. "But it was my friends who did that. When I found out, I stopped them. But then you had already found out. You wouldn't let me explain and before I could find a way to make things right, you had already gone."

L was surprised. He hadn't known about that. Could Kira be lying? Yes, he must be!

"You're lying," said L quietly.

"No, I'm not," said Kira earnestly. "I never wanted to hurt you, Eru…"

"But you did, Kira," snapped L. "You kept playing mind games with me, abusing me and treated me like I was some kind of toy to you! Even if you didn't go through with the video recording, you still hurt me. Like what you are doing now!"

Kira looked down at the floor, unable to respond.

"Kira, if you really do care for me, please let us go," said L in a softer tone.

Kira looked up at L wildly.

"I was a fool to let you go before!" he cried, looking a little deranged. "I won't make that mistake twice!"

"Kira, please," pleaded L. "I have a family out there, they need me. I need to be with the people I love."

Kira opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"You can't just shove me out of the way and act like I don't exist," said Misa, swinging something at the back of L's head, sending him sprawling to the floor with a cry of pain.

She stood over L and everyone in the room saw that she was holding a gun which she was now pointing at L.

"You've gotten between me and Light to many times," she snapped and started to pull the trigger.

"No!" cried Light, jumping forward and managed to divert the shot away from L. Unnoticed everyone the bullet hit a nearby lamp which caused sparks. The sparks landed on a rug which was partially covered by the couch. It began to burn.

Light continued to wrestle with Misa while the others looked on helplessly. Somehow, Misa managed to hit Light with gun, sending him crashing against a table. She took aim at L again, who just stared back at her.

There was a bang, and the bullet towards L's heart.

There was a blur and suddenly, blood.

L blinked as the blood stained his white shirt and pale face. Out of instinct, he grabbed around his body to look for the bullet wound but to his surprise, he could find none.

Then he saw the source of the blood.

Kira lay on the floor with a bloody wound in his chest.

"Kira!" cried L, kneeling down.

Misa let out an outraged cry and tried to shoot L again but was disarmed by Light who threw her down onto the floor hard, rendering her unconscious.

"Kira…why?" asked L, trying to staunch the wound on his former lover's chest.

"I don't know," answered Kira, his voice steady despite the fact that his life was ebbing away. "My body moved on its own."

"I…" began L but he paused, not knowing what to say. "…thank you, Kira."

Kira shook his head.

"Don't thank me, Eru," he said, reaching up a hand to stroke L's face. "I nearly ruined your life; it's only fair that I save it in exchange for my own."

"You're going to get through this," said L in an attempt to comfort Kira, but the Light's ebony haired look alike just laughed.

"You've never been good at comforting me," he chuckled.

"Oni-chan!" cried Near suddenly. "Fire!"

L looked around and saw that a fire had begun to eat away at the apartment.

"Damn," he muttered. He tried to lift Kira up but he wasn't strong enough to carry Kira's weight.

"Raito, help me!" he cried, but then to his surprise, Kira spoke up.

"Leave me," he said. "Get out of here while you still can."

"But…" began L, but again Kira cut him off.

"Mogi, Aizawa," he said. "Get them all out of here."

Aizawa moved to obey but Mogi hesitated.

"What about you, boss?" he asked.

Kira shook his head.

"My time is up," he said. "Get them all out of here."

"I won't leave you behind!" cried Mogi.

Kira glared at him. "Get them all out of here. That's my last order for you."

Mogi stared back at Kira and finally sighed with defeat. He pulled L away from Kira and pushed him over to Light.

"What about the girl?" asked Aizawa, gesturing to Misa who was regaining consciousness on the floor.

"Leave her," said Kira, sitting up. He winced as the pain in his chest intensified.

As Mogi and Aizawa ushered them all out, L looked back at Kira.

"Kira!" he cried, trying to get back to Kira.

Kira smiled at him.

"At least I get to hear you cry my name out without fear for once," he said, lighting a cigarette. "Love you, babe. Go and live your life with your Raito."

"Kira!" cried L again, but then Mogi and Light lifted him up and dragged him away, leaving Kira and Misa alone as the fire grew around them.

Misa took in her bearings and realised what was going on. She shrieked an attempted to get out but suddenly found Kira's iron grip on her wrist.

"Where do you think your going?" asked Kira.

"I'm getting out of this hellhole and to my Light!" she snapped, struggling to break free.

Kira smirked and in the fiery light, he looked like a demon. Misa felt fear running down spine.

"On the contrary, bitch, hell is where we are going," he said. "Now just stay put and burn."

Misa began to scream and tried to break free from Kira, who smoked away as though nothing was happening.

Soon the flame reached Misa and caught onto her clothes. She shrieked as they engulfed her.

Kira watched with morbid fascination as she tried to put the fire out. He watched as her skin started to bubble and crisp away in the flames.

By the time Misa fell to the floor, Kira was starting to lose consciousness due to his blood loss and the smoke around him.

He knew he was going to die.

He lay back on the couch and as he closed his eyes, a single tear escaped them.

_I'm so sorry, Eru. Have a good life._

As the flames engulfed him, all he saw was a beautiful vision of the person he had hurt the most and the only person he had ever loved.

lllllllllllllllllll

kinda cheesy...but i had a mental block when i was writing this...sorry...i'll...do my best to update faster...

sorry again for the very...very...very...late update...

next chapter coming soon...very soon...


	17. Chapter 17

b4 anything...

1. My computer broke down and only recently got fixed.

2. All the files were on this particular computer.

3. I'm just recovering from a hectic semester in college.

4. Had a lot of work to do with production that i'm in...

5. I couldn't think of anything to write.

so sorry for the....very....very....very....very X 100 late update...had to write and edit god knows how many scripts for my production short film...plus several of my coursemates this semester were such assholes...but that's not what you guys want to read about, right?

here you go...again...sorry for the late update...

* * *

…_at approximately 11:14 pm, a fire broke out at the Doujunkai apartments. Only three deaths are confirmed. One is popular teen idol, Amane Misa and her manager, Tota Matsuda and the other being the notorious drug lord, Kira. All three bodies were found in the same room. There are now speculations that Misa Misa may have been having an affair with the drug lord…_

The television airing the news was switched off.

L put the remote down with a sigh.

He was lying in a hospital bed quietly, even though he had insisted that he was fine. But the doctors wanted to keep him overnight for observation. Quite frankly, he was bored to death.

But his heart still felt heavy. Several people have died because of him. Near and Sayu had both been in danger because of him.

He thought back about what happened after they escaped the fire.

Mello and Watari had been there and so had Soichiro and Sachiko. Mogi and Aizawa had been arrested by the police. Mogi had gone quietly, but Aizawa had sworn and struggled and had to be subdued. Their fates were unknown, but L hoped that Mogi had been shown some leniency. The man had been quite decent to them during their ordeal.

All of them had been taken to the hospital after they were rescued and though none of them had been physically hurt, the doctors had insisted that all of them stay the night.

L was interrupted from his thoughts when his bedroom door opened. There was a blur of white hair and suddenly, he found himself wrapped in a pair of small arms.

"N…Near?" he gasped, his little brother's grip making it a little hard for him to breathe.

Near said nothing but merely tightened his hold, burying his face into L's chest.

L smiled and returned the gestured. The door opened again and this time, Watari entered. The old man looked as though he had just lived a hundred lifetimes of hardships. He grabbed a chair and sat down heavily.

"Near refused to sleep until he saw you," Watari said wearily.

L nodded as he ran his fingers through Near's white hair.

The three of them said nothing for awhile. Watari was leaning forward in his chair, his eyes closed. Near had fallen asleep on L, who just stroke Near's hair absent-mindedly.

"Raito?" asked L at last.

Watari opened his eyes and looked at L.

"The doctors wouldn't allow him to see you," he said. "He's in a different room with his own family. He told me to tell you that he'll see you as soon as he can."

L nodded, smiling a little. "And Mello?"

Watari snorted. "The doctors had to remove him and Matt. They caused quite a scene in the waiting room."

"Yes, that sounds like them," said L, chuckling.

Again silence fell in the room. Watari sensed that L had something else to say, but was trying to find a way to say it. So Watari waited, his eyes never leaving L.

"Tell me about my father," L requested quietly.

Watari was taken aback. He had not expected that. It was something that he didn't like to talk about; it was practically taboo. But since it was L who requested it, Watari would tell him.

"Your father, if you could call him that, is, or rather, was, a brilliant man," said Watari, taking off his glasses and polishing them. He put them on again and continued.

"He attended Oxford and graduated as the top student there. He then proceeded to create a shipping company…"

"What was he like?" interrupted L; he had no interest in what his father did; only what his father was like.

Watari sighed. He had hoped to avoid those particular details, but then again, this was L he was talking to.

"He was a womaniser, who cared for nothing more than himself. He delighted in taking people's fortune and breaking them in the process. That's what he did to your mother, Near's and Mello's."

Watari looked up at the ceiling and continued. "Your mother had a bright and promising future. She was my pride and joy, the only connection I had left to your grandmother. She wanted to work in the investigation agency that I owned and she could have become the best."

Watari paused. His next words were spoken in an ice cold voice. "Then he came."

"Your mother knew what your father was, but he charmed his way around your mother's caution and better judgment. And soon, he ran off with her fortune, leaving her alone with you."

"It destroyed her and she was never the same. Your mother went insane and soon committed suicide after you were born. I vowed to track down your father, and so I did. That was how I found Near and Mello. Both their mothers were also driven insane by him."

"Did you find him?" asked L, his voice calm.

"I did," answered Watari quietly. "He was dying from a disease he contracted during one of his…exploits. I told him about the three of you, and your mothers. He showed no remorse for what he did. He…said a lot of awful things."

"What did he say?" asked L.

"That is not necessary, Eru," said Watari.

"Please, tell me," said L, the plea in his quiet voice evident.

Watari sighed. "His exact words were: 'So I've fathered three bastards that you knew about, big deal! I've probably fathered an entire dynasty of bastards and made fortune out of it! And I had fun doing it, too.'"

L was quiet.

"I'm so sorry, Watari," he said quietly.

"For what?" asked Watari, surprised.

"For causing you to lose your daughter, if I…"

"Eru," snapped Watari sternly. "Whatever your father did has nothing to do with you! That was I did not allow your mother to undergo abortion. We originally planned to give you to an orphanage, but when you were born…you held my fingers and looked at me with those eyes of yours, I could not have loved you more. Your mother could not overcome it however and killed herself. If its anyone's fault, it is your father's and mine!"

"I'm sorry…" murmured L quietly.

"No, Eru," said Watari, moving forward to embrace L. "I'm sorry, I should have told you everything sooner."

L closed his eyes and hugged his grandfather tightly.

* * *

I got my finals for this semester next week...so it could be awhile again....

sorry in again and sorry in advance...

i'll do my best to update ASAP


	18. Chapter 18

I'm sorry it took so long, but my computer broke down again, and the only copy of this chapter was on it. here, enjoy!!

* * *

L was discharged from the hospital the following morning. The doctors had decided that he was both mentally and physically fit to leave. L had to resist rolling his eyes at the simple conclusion.

However, as he went down the elevator with Watari and Near (Mello and Matt had been barred from the hospital due to their behaviour), he felt somewhat agitated that Light had not come to visit him. He had asked Watari if he could visit Light, but to his surprise, Watari informed that Light had been discharged earlier.

If that was the case, why hadn't Light come to visit him? L felt a gnawing feeling in his heart. Had Light changed his mind? Did Light no longer wanted to be with him? All these questions ran themselves over and over again in L's head.

As they entered the exited the lobby and Watari tried to get a cab, L looked around, depressed. Near noticed and held L's hand tightly.

"I'm sure he has a good reason, oni-chan," said Near softly, giving L's hand a comforting squeeze.

L nodded, not knowing what to say.

"L…"

L turned so around quickly. In front of him was Light, bruised, slightly battered but it was still him. He was smiling softly at L and slowly, as though reaching out to fierce stray cat, he reached his hand out to L.

Tentatively, like a cautious cat who had just received a tit bit from a human, L took Light's hand into his own. Upon feeling Light's hand in his own, L rushed forward to embrace Light.

"I'm so glad you came back," said L, burying his face into Light's shoulder.

"I never left," answered Light into L's messy black hair.

The two of them just stood there, embracing each other with Watari and Near smiling in the background. The people who were walking by gave them odd looks that went unheeded.

Not far, on a bench in front of the hospital, two pairs of eyes were drinking in the sight.

"So sweet, isn't it?" said Ryuk, his large eyes flowing with tears.

Rem, who had until then been observing the sight with tearful eyes herself, immediately reverted back to her stern demeanour.

"Get a hold of yourself, Ryuk-san," she said sternly.

"But Rem-chan!" exclaimed Ryuk, turning his tearful orbs towards his red-haired counterpart. "Surely even you could allow some show of emotion at such a beautiful sight! Two lovers who went through a turbulent and difficult time, finally overcoming the odds and could at last be together…"

Ryuk was silenced when Rem suddenly pressed her lips to his.

Rem pulled away and smirked when she saw Ryuk staring at her with even wider eyes than usual.

"What the hell was that?" croaked Ryuk hoarsely.

"Manners, Ryuk-san," said Rem, her smirk widening. "You ramble a lot, did you know that? So I've been thinking of ways to shut you up. Eating doesn't seem to work as you can still talk fluently even with your mouth full, you blabber when you're deep in thought, so I thought a good kiss might…"

She was cut off when Ryuk pressed his lips to hers.

"…shuts you up too, doesn't it?" commented Ryuk, grinning widely.

The two just stared at each other.

"Whatever comes out of your mouth is rubbish," said Rem.

"Whatever comes out of yours is boring," retorted Ryuk.

"Looks like we need to shut each other up," remarked Rem.

"Agreed," replied Ryuk.

With the savagery of lions, they hurled themselves at each other for an intense (A/N: and utterly unimaginable) make out session.

LLLLLLLL

When they got home, Near immediately rushed off to Light's house to see Sayu. Watari had been pleasantly surprised that Near did not ask L to accompany him. Before, Near could not go just about anywhere without L in tow. But now the young boy was growing more and more independent.

Watari went to call Mello but stopped in front of the door. He could hear the bed creaking loudly on the other side, accompanied by Matt's voice screaming words like "harder", "deeper", "faster" and a lot more obscene things. Snorting with amusement, Watari instead turned to where L and Light were.

The two of them were on the couch, cuddling each other contentedly. Watari did not want to disturb them but he knew he had to for a little while.

"Eru, Light-san, I wish to talk to you both for awhile," said Watari, seating himself in a chair adjacent to the couch.

The two boys straightened up to look at Watari.

The old man took his time, polishing his glasses and checking them against the light to buy himself time to gather his thoughts.

"I understand you both wish to be together," he said at last, putting his glasses back on.

L and Light huddled together, as if they were afraid Watari might try to separate them.

"I have nothing against your sexual preferences; but not everyone will feel the same way as I do," continued Watari.

Both boys nodded, understanding what Watari was driving at.

"It's going to be a long and difficult road. People may insult you, be disgusted by you and may even try to hurt you for being what you are. The world has its joys and wonders, but it has even more ugliness, hate and horrors."

Both boys nodded again.

"That being said," continued Watari. "Are you sure this is what you both want?"

"Yes," answered L and Light simultaneously.

Watari nodded. "Then, the only thing left for me to say is only for you, Light-san. If you hurt Eru in any possible way, I will make sure that you wish you had never been born. I will make your life so terrible that even Hell would be like a vacation in Miami."

"Watari!" cried L, shocked that his grandfather would say such things.

Light gaped at the old man for a moment, and then smiled. "I guess I have nothing to worry about then."

Watari smiled at his grandson's lover. "Welcome to the family."

L and Light bowed to him before retreating up to L's bedroom.

"Your grandfather can be scary," commented Light.

"He's a bit overprotective, that's all," answered L, wrapping his arms around Light's neck and pulling him down to the floor. He nibbled on Light's neck gently, leaving some marks.

Light closed his eyes, enjoying the attention that L was giving to his neck. After awhile, he pulled away to look at L.

"You know," he murmured. "I feel kind of bad for Watari."

"Why?" asked L in surprise.

"I'd think he'd want great-grandchildren," said Light. "That's something we can't do."

L considered for a moment and then, to Light's surprise, a mischievous smile formed on L's lips.

"You're right," said L. "We can't."

"Then why are you smiling like that?" demanded Light.

"Didn't you realise, Raito?" said L. "Of my two brothers, Near is straight and he likes Sayu."

"Oh," was all Light could say.

"We'll let Near give Watari great-grandchildren," said L, pulling Light back down. "Now shut up and kiss me.

Light was only too happy to comply.

LLLLLL

Watari walked quietly in the park. The leaves were falling all around him, signaling that autumn had arrived. He sighed, he was now in the winter of his life and still he had so many regrets.

He hoped he had done the right thing by allowing L and Light to follow their hearts, like he should have done all those years ago. But then, he mused, if he had done so, he would never have had his daughter, and in turn he would never have had those three wonderful grandchildren that loved so much.

As he continued walking around the park aimlessly, he spotted a familiar figure seated on a park bench.

As he approached, the figure turned to him and simply said: "Watari."

"Mamoru," returned Watari. "May I sit down?"

"I don't own the park," answered the old curator, making room for Watari to sit.

The two just sat there in silence. Finally, Watari decided to speak up.

"How's the museum coming along?" he asked awkwardly.

Anezaki didn't even turn to look at him. "I'm thinking of closing down."

"What?" cried Watari. "Why?"

"Nobody bothers to come to the museum anymore," answered Anezaki. "Aside from your grandson, the whole place is just falling apart."

Watari sighed, knowing what the other man said was true.

"I don't understand one thing, Mamoru," he said. "You're a brilliant man; you could have easily started a successful business or gotten any job. Yet, why did you pick a career that was doomed from the start?"

"I like what I do," snapped Anezaki in anger. "It's what I love to do. I do what I love to do, what makes me feel happy. Not what other people tell me to do. Like what you did."

Watari hung his head with shame. "I had to think of my parents, Mamoru…"

"But you didn't think enough about me," snapped Anezaki. "You just left me that night, refused to return my calls, refused to see me. Before I knew what was happening, you were married to some woman for the sake of a business partnership."

Watari said nothing.

"Then after all those years, you suddenly had the gall to come and ask me to help you take care of your grandchildren," continued Anezaki. "No explanation, you just walked in and made that request of me. But you were smart there…"

"What do you mean?" asked Watari.

"You were smart enough to bring L in his swaddling cloth," answered Anezaki. "Had you not done that, I would've refused to help you. But seeing the infant so helpless in your arms, I agreed to help you."

"Even then, you rarely kept in touch me. Oh yes, Watari, I know that those few years in university meant nothing to you. I was just an experiment, a fling, a call-boy…"

"That's not true!" cried Watari. "All those moments are precious to me, Mamoru! I loved you…I mean, I _love _you. Not a day has gone by where I didn't curse myself for leaving you like I did. For the past five decades, I just wanted to run to you and beg for your forgiveness, beg you to love me again…"

"Then why didn't you?" said Anezaki, his voice shaking. "Why did you just leave me in the middle of the night? Why didn't you see me?"

"I had no choice, Mamoru," answered Watari, his eyes tearing. "The world then was so much harsher on people like us. My parents threatened to have you taken care of if I didn't comply with their wishes…and I foolishly agreed. We could have outwitted them, but I panicked, and chose to hurt you instead. I didn't see you because I was afraid that they may carry out their threat. After they died, it wasn't fair to Clarissa that I just leave her. I guess, in a way, I came to love her. But after she died, I wanted to see you, to explain everything…but I was a coward, I was afraid…"

Anezaki looked away, his eyes shut in attempt to stem the tears.

Watari reached forward and took the other man's hand into his own.

"I'm so sorry, Mamoru," he said softly. "I wished I could make it up to you somehow. But I fear it's too late."

"It's never too late, Watari," replied Anezaki, looking at Watari at last. "Will you stay with me, so that we may be together in the twilight of our lives?"

Watari buried his face into the other man's shoulder, crying. "Thank you, Mamoru. That is so much more than I deserve."

The leaves continued to fall around the two as they sought comfort in each other; free to be who they truly were at last.

LLLLLL

Near ran as fast as his legs would carry him. His mind was set only on one thing: Sayu. He soon arrived to where her house was. He was about to head for the door when he heard something.

It was Sayu's voice, singing softly in the evening.

Following it, Near realised it was coming over the fence where the Yagamis kept their garden. He quickly ran there and found her.

She was sitting on the grass, singing softly.

Her voice was soft, sweet and melodious. It brought peace to Near's heart as only L could.

As the boy neared, Sayu saw him and stopped.

"Near-chan!" she cried. She was about to get up to run to him but Near raised a hand to stop her.

"Don't stop," he said softly.

Sayu's eyes widened with surprise, but she obeyed.

As she sang, Near sat down next to her and closed his eyes. He lost himself in the melody of her beautiful voice.

Sayu kept singing, enjoying the contented look on the boy's face. She sang and sang; exhilarated by her song until she did not even realise that the sun had set.

Soon, Near was lulled into a comfortable sleep. He laid his head on Sayu's lap. She smiled and ran her fingers through his white hair.

When Sachiko came to call her in, she stopped at the sight. The two of them looked so peaceful that she had not the heart to disturb them. So she left them outside in the garden.

Above, the stars shone brightly. Sayu looked up them and somehow, she knew that everything would be all right.

In her world at least, all was at peace.

* * *

I'm sad to say that this is the second last chapter...the following will merely be an Epilogue...but i sincerely thank all those who supported this story...i'd like to say more, but i'll leave it for the Epilogue...


	19. Epilogue

Here it is, the last piece...

* * *

"Rem-chan, we got an invitation!" cried Ryuk, walking into a small room, waving an envelope. In there, typing away on a computer was his wife of ten years. Her face was more lined, her red hair longer, but she was every bit as lovely since they first met.

"Invitation to where?" she asked, not looking up.

"Oh, let me check," Ryuk opened the envelope and his black eyes scanned the card within it.

"You haven't even opened it, but you know it's an invitation," commented Rem, still not looking up from the computer.

"I know it from the shape of the envelope," replied Ryuk. "It's says here that we've been invited to the wedding of Near River and Sayu Yagami. Hell, it's about time those two tied the knot."

Rem looked up, smiling. "That's wonderful, Ryuk! We have to go shopping to get something for them…"

Ryuk just smiled as he watched his wife list out the things they needed to get for the future husband and wife. Her normally stern face was animated and alight with anticipation and excitement.

Ryuk was mesmerized by the sight that he did not realise that Rem was talking to him.

"Eh?" he said when finally realised it.

Rem sighed with exasperation. "I was asking if you had any ideas. What were you thinking about?"

Ryuk grinned. "I was thinking about how you're even more beautiful when you get rid of the "Ms. Bossy" attitude you have."

Rem blushed. "Stop saying things like that."

"Aha!" exclaimed Ryuk. "I made you blush!"

Rem looked away to hide her face. Suddenly, a pair of long arms encircled her waist.

"You know," purred Ryuk's voice near her ear. "We've been married ten years but we still have no children."

"What are you trying to say?" asked Rem.

Ryuk whirled her around, making her squeak in surprise.

"It's time we try harder."

LLLLLLL

"Wake up Matt!" cried Mello, throwing a pillow at his boyfriend. "We're going to miss the flight back to Japan if you don't get up now!"

Mello and Matt had been touring Europe to promote their band, "The Death Notes". Mello was the lead guitarist while Matt was the lead singer. The other two members, Kira's former subordinates Mogi and Aizawa had joined the band after the police released them. Mello and Matt had been skeptical at first, but it turned out that Mogi was a very good drummer and Aizawa was a good bassist. So they had formed the band and became very famous in Japan. Despite all that, however, they kept low profiles so that they could at least maintain a somewhat normal life.

Matt stirred when the pillow hit him. "Geez, Mello," he grumbled. "If you knew we were going back today, you shouldn't have banged me so hard last night. I can barely move."

Mello shrugged sheepishly. Matt had a point.

"Looks like we're taking a shower together then," he commented, grinning as he picked the red-haired man up. "I'll have to shower you since you can barely move."

"No, Mello!" cried Matt, struggling to get out of his blonde-haired lover's arms. "If you do, we'll definitely miss the flight."

"Whatever are you talking about?" asked Mello, smiling innocently.

"Every time we shower together, you get all horny and we…" Matt trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Mello grinned widely. "I end up banging you in the shower," he said. "That's your fault. If you weren't so damn sexy…"

"Oh god!" cried Matt, struggling harder to get away. "Mello, don't! We have to get to Near and Sayu's wedding!"

"We'll just catch the next flight, then," replied Mello, his voice now heavy with lust. That being said, he carried his struggling boyfriend into the bathroom.

One floor below, Mogi and Aizawa were packing their things for the flight back to Japan when the ceiling above them began to shake.

"They're at it again," said Aizawa, snorting when they could hear Matt screaming Mello's name.

Mogi looked up silently and cringed when he heard Matt cry out "not that! Anything but that!"

They heard the unmistakable sound of a vibrator and, if Matt's intense screaming was any indicator, a very large one.

"Aizawa, call room service and get the breakfast special," said Mogi.

"Huh, why?" asked Aizawa. "Don't we have a flight to catch?"

Mogi sat down and turned on the TV and put it to full volume. "Looks like we're catching the next one."

LLLLLLL

Leaves fell around in the cemetery, making the ground a crunchy place to step on. A sparrow who was perched on a tree overlooking the cemetery cocked his curiously when it heard footsteps falling upon the leaves, making those crunching noises.

It watched as a white-haired man walked towards a pair of headstones that stood side-by-side.

The white-haired man kneeled down before the headstones and proceeded to remove some of the fallen leaves and twigs around it.

"Hello, Watari. Hello, Anezaki-san," said the man. "I'll be getting married in a week, just to give Mello, Matt, Eru and Raito time to get back here."

The man laughed to himself quietly. "Imagine that, little Near getting married at last! Sayu and I were planning to wait another five years, but one careless move and we ended up having little Kira. He's going to be four this year, and I thought its only fair that Sayu and I finally get married, so that Kira can truly call me his father."

He placed a fallen flower between the headstones. "I wish you both could be here to see the wedding…"

He trailed off, looking up at the darkening sky.

He heard some crunching noised behind him and turned.

He saw Sayu, taller, older and far more beautiful than anyone he had ever laid his eyes on. He felt his breathe catch in his throat.

Trotting at Sayu's side, clutching an old and battered looking teddy bear, was a little boy. His hair was exactly the same as his, but it was ebony instead of white. He also had inherited Sayu's beautiful blue eyes.

"I thought you might be here, Near," said Sayu, smiling at him.

Near straightened up and hugged her. Near himself had grown taller over the years, his skin, once sickly pale, now had a healthy glow to it. In Sayu's eyes, Near had matured from a cute, adorable, quiet and sweet boy to a confident and handsome man. She tiptoed to give Near a kiss.

"Daddy, who are they?" asked the little boy, Kira, pointing at the two headstones.

Near squatted down beside his son. Pointing to the headstone on the right, he said: "That's your great-grandfather, Watari." Pointing to the one of the left, he said: "That's Watari's close friend, Mamoru Anezaki."

"They were the ones who raised me, Uncle Eru and Uncle Mello," he added.

"They did?" asked Kira, his eyes wide. "But they're so old!"

Sayu and Near laughed together. Near took Kira's hand and proceeded to lead his son and Sayu out of the cemetery.

"Daddy," said Kira. "My friends laughed at this teddy bear; they say it's old and ugly. Can I get a new one?"

Near smiled down at the boy. "It may be old and ugly. But, that teddy bear has a history."

"What's history?" asked Kira.

Near chuckled. "It means that this bear is old and has a story with it."

"What story?" asked Kira eagerly.

"That bear was made by your great-grandmother, Clarissa. It used to belong to Uncle Eru's mother. Watari then gave it to Uncle Eru. It was his friend when he was lonely; it was there to listen to him when he needed someone to talk to. Then, Uncle Eru gave it to me, it always told me that Uncle Eru loved me very much, and that it would always be there to make sure I know that. Now, it's yours, but what it means to you is for you to…"

He trailed off when Kira yawned. Smiling, he picked Kira up into his arms. The little boy buried his face into Near's shoulder and slept.

"He's still to young to hear such a long story," said Sayu, putting a hand on Near's shoulder.

"He'll understand it himself, soon enough," answered Near.

The two of them walked together quietly, enjoying the comforting silently.

When they reach the home they shared together, Near hesitated.

"What's wrong, Near?" asked Sayu, looking at him with concern.

"I…I've never said this before, Sayu," said Near softly, looking at Sayu. "But…I wanted to get off my chest before we get married."

"What's that?" asked Sayu.

"I want you to know that…that I'm not marrying you because we had Kira," said Near. "I want you to know, that I'm marrying you…because…because…"

Near trailed off. It was so hard for him to say it. Even though they had been together for ten years, never once had he uttered those three words.

Sayu said nothing, looking at Near hopefully.

"I'm marrying you…because I love you." said Near at last.

Sayu smiled and walked up to Near and gave him a peck on the nose. "Baka," she said. "You think I didn't know that already?"

She walked into the house and turned to give Near an inviting smile.

Near smiled and moved to follow.

LLLLLL

Far away, on the Salisbury Plains, were L and Light, doing their research. The two of them had been travelling the world to do research on historical sites and make documentaries for a history channel.

In the last ten years, the two of them had covered the Great Pyramid, the Great Wall of China, the Spiral Minaret, Alamut and many others. Now, their target was the mysterious Stonehenge.

"You know that there have been all kinds of ridiculous theories surrounding the Stonehenge?" asked L, as he took photos of the gigantic stone columns.

"Do you know we have to catch a flight tomorrow to get back to Japan?" asked Light.

"Yes, I do," answered L. "Near and Sayu are finally getting married. They had to have a child first before they finally made up their minds, right?"

"Yeah," answered Light as he surveyed the ancient site. "Father nearly blew his top off when he found out, but at least he cooled down enough to allow them to get married."

"True," answered L. "I'm happy for them. They belong together, don't you think?"

Light smiled and walked up behind his boyfriend and grabbed him by the waist.

"Raito!" cried L in surprise as Light nuzzled his neck.

"I happen to know one theory about the Stonehenge that even you don't know about," whispered Light into L's ear.

"Oh yeah?" said L. "What's that?"

"First, tell me the main theories you know," said Light, smiling at L teasingly.

"It was made for a burial ground, an observatory, a religious site, supernatural and symbolic reasons and such," listed of L.

"Here's the theory that you don't know," murmured Light. "It's also used for ritual mating. That's what the altar in the centre is for."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked L nervously.

"Shall we explore the theory?" asked Light as he began to guide L towards the Stonehenge.

"Raito!" hissed L. "This is a public place!"

"There's no one here yet," murmured Light.

"But people might come here!" whined L, trying to pull away.

"All the more reason to explore this theory," said Light. "The sooner we do it, the sooner we can leave before anyone come here."

L hesitated. Light grinned; this was the opening he needed.

"Plus, it'll add to the excitement, won't it?" he said. "The danger of being caught, doesn't it thrill you, Eru?"

L felt himself grow hard at the thought. He can't help it now, there was no going back.

He let pull himself to the centre of the Structures and as Light began to remove his clothes, L murmured only one word to him.

"Pervert."

L-The End-L

* * *

Ah...its finished at last....thank you for all your support...i'll post up my ramblings soon...like i did with Possession...hope you enjoyed reading this stroy as much as i enjoyed writing it...


	20. Author's Ramblings

So…it's over at last. This one took me quite awhile to write, since my com broke down several times while I was at it.

Anyway, for those of you who read Possession before, you'd probably know that I'm not a Yaoi fan…so why did I write another one?

It was because I wasn't satisfied with Possession; due to the lack of details…I hope I managed to remedy that a little in this one…and I hoped I managed to make Misa even more evil and gave her more a fitting death…XD

Anyway…this could be my last Yaoi fic for a very, very long time…but I may try to finish Taming the Beast in Eyeshield 21…mainly because I don't like leaving a work unfinished…and to those of you who read Oblivion, yes, I will start writing Into Oblivion and Beyond as soon as possible.

I'll be focusing more on the Doraemon fic I'm writing…True Friend…I know not many of you read the Doraemon fan fics, but I hope you'll at least take a glance at this one…it's probably going to be the longest story I'll write…=D

Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for reading A Little More in Common and for all the support you've given me…it was truly a pleasure reading your responses…

I hope to hear from you guys again…see ya!!

*whisper*…to write, or not to write a sequel...that is the question…=)


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